Chronicles: The Forgotten
by Silvernutbar
Summary: A man awakens, horribly wounded, and unable to recall anything about his life. He must come to terms with his origins, while dealing with the conflict between an ancient kingdom and the power that slew it. Sidestory 1 for Scott In Pokegirl Land.
1. Knight In The Forest

AN:

Hello to all the random people of the internet.. and beyond. This story is several things that many might not like. First off... it involves an original character. However, it is a character that has already been used in another Sailor Moon-verse. He is well explained in that one, but many people that find him in this one first will scream 'overpowered' or some such.

To know where he comes from and why he is the way he is, please read Scott in Pokegirl land. The story you are reading now is technically only a side story for that one, albeit a rather long one.

For those interested, you can find Scott in Pokegirl Land through my profile page, or you can go to the Sailor Moon cross-over section of the site and find the one and only Sailor Moon/Bastard cross over listed. It's M rated for your enjoyment. 3

This story does feature pokegirls, and pokegirl elements, however it will take a few chapters before those elements are concrete in their literary existence. Those who demand pokegirls in every single chapter will best be suited by ignoring this story or waiting till several chapters have been posted. :)

...

The darkness was all encompassing as the man continued his existence within its unending embrace. He knew not how long he had been here, nor where here really was. Though time seemed to be non-existent in this place there was a sense of a great deal of it having passed. So much time had come and gone that memories had grown dull, and thoughts duller still. It was becoming hard to even think coherent thoughts in the emptiness of the void.

It was no wonder that the sole occupant of this dark space had thought himself mad when he heard a voice call out from the darkness.

"You who wander.. you who are lost.. where would you go?"

The man had not spoken in such a long time that he was uncertain how to do so. Finally, after what seemed like yet another eternity he managed to answer.

"I.. do not know.."

For a time there was no answer. Eventually the voice did answer again. "Child our kind does not belong in this endless darkness.. come back.. come back to me.."

"Our kind..?" asked the man curiously.

"Even that.. you have forgotten.. " replied the voice in a strange tonality that seemed to phase between masculine and feminine. The darkness seemed to grow lighter whenever the voice spoke to him. Though, really, how could he tell?

He could not answer the voice. He barely knew that he was a man, much less anything else.

"You must remember.. remember yourself and your duty."

"Duty..." replied the man as he tried hard to understand what that could be.

The voice was quiet again for a time before answering. "You have grown weak child. I am able to return you to where you must be, but as you are now you would risk destruction. You must regain your power."

"Power.. what.. power?"

"Learn for yourself... now go my son.. and rock.." replied the somewhat familiar voice. Something about that last statement triggered a thought in the man's mind. It was fleeting however, and soon he was as confused as ever.

... ...

Chapter One: The Knight in the Forest

... ...

The short elderly man wandered along the forest path near his beloved shrine. It was a beautiful day for a walk, but he was doing so to clear his head more than anything else. He had gotten into another argument with his granddaughter. It was all they seemed to do of late. When she was younger and his daughter was alive they got along famously. Now he was just an old fool that embarrassed her. Why else would she try to hide what she was doing with her friends?

It was upsetting to the shinto priest. His only grandchild wanted little to do with him anymore. He was just a useless old man. Even worse, she seemed unable to confide in him anymore. She had secrets and would not trust him with them.

As the man known simply to the world as 'Grandpa' Hino wandered the forest path he was so consumed with his thoughts that he almost missed hearing the subtle noise off to his left. He did hear it though.

Grandpa moved off to the side of the path to investigate and was astonished to discover someone propped up against a tree in a bloody heap.

"What..?" asked the wizened old man intelligently. This was not something someone saw everyday anymore. The man laying against the tree was wearing some kind of black armor that seemed horribly damaged. There was blood and bits of strange metal everywhere. The torso of the body armor seemed to have been rent and torn by horrifically large claws. Here and there he noted that it was also partially melted or otherwise deformed.

Whatever this man, he assumed it was a man from the size of him, had been fighting it had not been anything he wanted to run into. The sword laying next to him drew Grandpa's eye as well. He was no master swordsmith but he could tell that this was no costume piece. The fact that it was covered in blood, dirt, and pieces of torn flesh also attested to its viability as a weapon.

It was a large two-handed blade of foreign origin. He wasn't certain exactly what kind it was but he knew it wasn't a Japanese design.

When a soft groan escaped the armored warrior Grandpa went into action. He didn't know who this was, but it was obvious they needed help.

The older man tried to move the knight, or whatever he was, but he proved to be far too heavy. During his struggles, two small spheres rolled free from his side to catch Grandpa's eye. The wizened elder stared at the man's strange balls for a time, interested in what they might be. He grasped them, cupping them gently so as not to render them any harm while he trained his eyes on them. In the end, he chose to move on to other matters.

"Maybe without that armor..?" mumbled the older man. A decision made, he set about checking the man's body more thoroughly. It took him several minutes to discover how to remove the armor. It had a very thorough design and didn't seem to rely on straps. There was something vaguely futuristic about it, similar to those science fiction shows that came on television sometimes.

As the body armor came off the older man winced at the wounds underneath. Whoever this was they had been in the fight of their lives. His body was a mass of deep purple bruises and bloody tears.

When the helmet came off he blinked. It looked like this man was very young. He couldn't have been more than around twenty, maybe twenty two. Grandpa wasn't that certain about westerners. This guy was definitely not from around here.

"It'd probably be dangerous to move you but.. I can't leave you here." stated the old man to himself as he eyed the badly injured fighter.

He glanced down at the sword but his spiritual senses started tingling. Something about it told him that he should not bother it. He wasn't about to argue with that feeling since it had helped him many times over the years.

Grandpa Hino tried to move the man again, but discovered that he was still quite heavy. There was nothing else to do but try and drag him back instead of carrying him. Rei wouldn't be out of School until later and this poor gaijin needed help now.

The old man sighed and took the man's feet in his hands then turned around between them and began to pull him forward. It took a moment to build momentum but once he got the heavy individual moving he managed a slow stead march home. He would end up taking many breaks, but eventually he would get him there.

... ...

"Usagi, really!" exclaimed a small black cat. The little feline had been quite annoying of late and the blond pony-tailed girl she was annoyed at was getting a little tired of it.

"Luna.. chill, ok? We're doing the best we can!" exclaimed Usagi as she finished folding her laundry. Living the single life in her one room apartment was bad enough without her only roommate nagging at her.

The cat whisked her tail in further annoyance and jumped onto the girl's futon. "Well, do better! Last time was a close call! If it wasn't for Sailor Venus showing up when she did you would all be dead!"

".. I know Luna. We fell right into that trap." admitted the girl as she finished her laundry by placing her pink lace panties into their appropriate drawer. She only had the one dresser for clothes but she tried to be organized. It was a lesson her mother had continually drilled into her back when she was in middle school and then high school. Now that she was a college freshman she had to be a little more organized.

It sucked but she had been forced to grow up a little even before this dark kingdom business started. Who would have thought she would have turned out to be reincarnated royalty from a hundred thousand years ago? Her, Usagi Tsukino? She barely passed her math finals and she was supposed to protect the world from evil?

Before Luna could complain further Usagi's communicator began to beep, alerting her to something going on. She picked it up and pressed a button to talk, "Hey.. what's up?"

"Nothing much, thought I'd remind everyone about the get together at the shrine. Rei wanted to do a fire reading and we all needed to sit down and chat with Sailor Venus." replied the voice of Ami Mizuno, one of Serena's oldest friends. They'd known each other since middle school. Who would have thought she'd end up being a reincarnated princess too. It was weird how most of her close friends were all royalty like that.

"Oh right! I almost forgot with all my unpacking." exclaimed the twin pony-tailed girl.

"I thought as much. I did all my unpacking last week." replied the perpetual 'A' student. She was the kind of crazy that only existed in the mind of someone that studied for fun.

"Hmm. Let me guess.. you called me first?" groused Usagi. It seemed like everyone treated her like she was incompetent or something. Sure, she'd been a bit.. flakey, and clumsy, when she was younger but things change. She hadn't tripped in at least a week!

"You're the first one to answer, that's all." replied Ami. She was generally honest so that might even be true.

The girls continued to chat for a few minutes before the others answered. Hopefully, they'd be able to get Venus her communicator today and they could talk to her as well.

Usagi was especially excited about talking to her. She'd always been a major Sailor V fan.

... ...

The girls were in the shrine watching Rei perform a fire reading a few hours later. Their newest member, who also turned out to be the most experienced of them all, was Sailor Venus. Her civilian identity was that of Minako Aino, if you could believe that. One of the most popular idol singers in Japan had turned out to be Sailor V as well. Usagi had nearly had a fangirl melt down when she learned that bit of news. She had all her albums especially her newest one called 'Ciest Le Ve'.

"Hmm, it's not showing me anything new.." admitted Rei after about an hour of trying. "It just keeps showing me the same Dark Kingdom generals again and again."

"So, no new information at all?" asked Makoto with a sigh. She'd hoped they would find something out. It was hard to run her bakery, and fight evil forces from beyond the universe or whatever. She'd only just opened it up and business was booming.

"None." sighed the raven haired girl before standing up to stretch. "I'm thirsty, anyone else need something?" she asked a moment later. Sitting in front of a blazing fire for an hour in her robes had dehydrated her a bit.

"Uhm.. I could use a drink actually." admitted Minako with a blush. She wasn't used to hanging out with other girls her own age anymore. Everyone she knew was always either kissing her ass or trying to get her to sell something.

"Sure, um.. need to go to the store.. is juice ok?" asked the shrine maiden as she moved toward the outside door.

"That'd be great actually." replied the blond with a heart warming smile.

"Ok, anyone else?"

A few head shakes answered her and she wandered off toward the kitchen to get their drinks. The girls started chattering aimlessly among themselves but not long after Rei left they heard a shriek from nearby.

"Wha.. Rei?" exclaimed Usagi as she hopped up.

"This could be bad, come on!" exclaimed Minako as she rushed toward the door. The others followed suit only to discover something they had not expected.

In the kitchen they encountered Rei and what appeared to be an incredibly naked man. He had horrible bruises all over his body but was clothed in nothing else. He also seemed entirely unconcerned by their presence as he continued to drink milk straight from the carton.

"What the heck is that?" asked Usagi.

"My new best friend!" exclaimed Minako with a giggle.

The other girls turned to gape at her for a moment before a series of nervous giggles erupted from the group. It was funny but there was still a strange, naked, incredibly buff, man in Rei's kitchen.

He turned toward them after finishing the milk and blinked curiously. Without any shame he asked, "Um.. who are you?"

"Wh.. who are we? Who are you!" exclaimed Rei amidst her burning red cheeks. The nerve of this naked guy! Who randomly walks into people's houses to drink milk naked anyway?

He blinked and tilted his head a little and then shook it slowly. "I.. I don't.." he began, only to stop and say hello to a familiar face. "Oh hello grandpa."

"Grandpa?" exclaimed Rei as she turned to see her elderly grandfather standing directly behind them.

"Oh, I see you're up and around." he said casually with a smirk. This was priceless. Served his granddaughter right for leaving him out of her 'meetings' as if he didn't know what kind of things they talked about. They practically shouted when they talked anyway.

"Uhm.. yes. Thank you sir. I.. seem to be causing some trouble at the moment.. but I'm not sure what the issue is.." explained the still naked man. A naked man that was currently turned directly toward a small group of teenage girls while wearing nothing but a curious expression.

"Grandpa? Who is this!" snapped Rei excitedly. She was trying her best not to stare at it.. him... the naked guy.

"Our new groundskeeper." explained the old man. If his granddaughter wanted to keep secrets he could too. He sensed a decent enough spirit within the naked man, plus he wanted to know what was going on with him anyway.

"Why is he naked then?" she exclaimed with a horrific blush.

The man blinked at her then looked down at himself. "Uhm.. is this a problem then?"

"Not from where I'm standing!" exclaimed Makoto with a blush.

"What happened to you? You're wounded.." asked Ami. She was in med-school so of course she was interested in helping the man. She should give him a thorough physical while she was here. It was for his own good after all.

The man shook his head. "I.."

"He's had a rough day.. leave the poor guy alone.. don't you have some super secret no grandfather's allowed meeting to go to anyway?" asked Grandpa Hino with a disgruntled snort.

The naked guy frowned a little and nodded. He was feeling better than he had been earlier but still needed to rest. He began to turn away from them to head back to bed when he noticed something he had seen earlier. There was a pair of cats staring at him too. When he took greater notice of the cats he also noticed the blond girl standing near the white one. Something about her seemed familiar, very familiar.

The man blinked and walked toward the group, causing several of the girls to draw back and start babbling questions. Scott ignored them as he leaned forward and stared hard at the newest senshi in the group.

He tilted his head back and forth for a moment and then mouthed a word. The girl's eyes widened in shock, a shock that was shared by a few others when the man actually spoke it aloud and then began to wobble.

He clutched his head and shook it from side to side slowly as though he was trying to shake the memories loose. He spoke the word once more in a whisper, 'Mina.." before his eyes seemed to roll up in his head and he collapsed like a marionette with broken strings.

... ...

"How'd he know you?" asked Rei almost accusingly. Her grandfather was tending to the unconscious man in the only spare bedroom of the shrine. This left them a brief few minutes to talk about this before she wanted to go check on the naked interloper.

Minako shook her head. "I don't know. I never met him before."

Makoto spoke up with the only thing she could think of. "Maybe, he's like a fan of yours or something?"

"Yeah! That makes sense. I mean you're like super famous." stated Usagi excitedly.

"Maybe." replied Minako as she started to chew on her lip a little. She didn't know the guy at all, but he didn't seem like the fanboy type. There was actual confusion in his eyes. He didn't even seem to recognize her, his speaking of her name seemed more of an afterthought than anything else. It was disturbing.

"That must be it.." replied Ami, thoughtfully. What else could it be really.

"Why was he naked though?" asked Rei, still fuming. You just did not go wandering around in someone's house naked! He even drank the last of the milk. The nerve of that guy!

"Yeah he must work out too.. did you see?" asked Usagi with a giggle.

"We all saw Usagi." muttered the black moon cat. Luna was already spouting conspiracy theories about the dark kingdom. It was a surprise she'd been quiet long enough to let the girls talk.

"No kidding. That guy was built like he just walked out of some shonen manga." replied Makoto with a blush. She didn't read that sort of thing of course. Big muscular guys that were taller than her didn't get her excited at all, nope.. not a bit.

"I was more concerned about those wounds of his.." replied Ami.

"Wanna play doctor?" asked Usagi with a smirk. The blue haired girl turned beet red and looked away. "No, no.. but.. he needs one.."

"Yeah, how'd he get that way? Grandpa knows something..." grumbled Rei.

"Those were combat wounds.." said Minako after a minute or two of thought.

"Wha.. combat.. you mean he got that way in a fight? Who could do THAT to a guy like him?" asked Makoto curiously. The guy looked like he could bench press a car. He wasn't massively bulky. He was actually quite sleekly toned. The thing was that even his muscles seemed to have muscles. "Whoever beat him down like that had to have been real strong."

"Yeah.." replied Minako as she got lost in thought again. A random naked guy knew her name. That was a little creepy. An extremely muscular naked guy with battle wounds knew her name. That was very odd.

"I'll make Grandpa tell me about him. He knows something.. he has to!" exclaimed Rei before she stomped her foot in annoyance. Why was he hiding stuff from her. It made no sense.

"I'm telling you, he's obviously working with the enemy!" exclaimed Luna for the fifth time since they'd returned to the fire reading room.

"You think the mailman is working with the Dark Kingdom Luna." said Usagi with a roll of her eyes.

"He keeps showing up at your apartment complex!"

"He delivers mail, Luna. That's what mailmen do." replied the teenage girl with a sigh. The cat's constant paranoia got on her nerves sometimes.

Artemis grumbled something under his breath that no one else heard. If they had heard it, it would have sounded suspiciously like 'shoulda tried dating her.'

As the group continued to argue and chatter aimlessly Minako grew more and more introspective. She could not place him at all. How had he known her name. Could he really just be a fan?

... ...

AN: Well there's the first chapter of this horribly inept side story. Hope you enjoyed the gratuitous male nudity.


	2. What The Hild?

Rei muttered to herself as she gazed into the sacred fire. It seemed that no matter what she asked the flames in regards to her unwanted house-guest nothing made sense. She received plenty of answers but none of them were of any use. Half the time it involved images of her or the other senshi in weird outfits. Why did she have cat ears and a tail in those visions anyway?

He had been nothing but a mysterious annoyance since he'd arrived four days prior. Despite his horrible wounds he had completely recovered by the day prior and he was helping her grandfather around the shrine already.

"Good work! You're very helpful!" called Grandpa from outside the room. The shrine maiden mumbled yet again at the unfairness of it all. That naked idiot was being treated like a member of the family by her own grandfather. He still refused to tell her why, though. It was aggravating.

A few more shouts drew her to the doors. How could she concentrate if she had to keep hearing all that screaming. When the doors opened she began to prepare a shout but the words died on her lips.

In the yard before her stood the same naked individual as before. He was clothed in shinto robes this time. However, the real difference was what the man was doing. Rei stared hard at the man as he dragged an entire tree into the yard then dropped the part of the trunk he had been holding.

Her eyes widened almost comically at the ridiculous display of strength. That settled it. He couldn't possibly be human. Not even a television strongman could have lugged an entire tree out of the forest. The thing must have easily weighed a few tons.

"You saved us a great deal of effort by bringing that dead tree out of the woods. We are in constant need of fire wood." gushed Grandpa as he handed their groundskeeper an axe.

"I'm thankful for the opportunity to help. You've done so much for me Grandpa." responded the man softly in a sincere tone.

"That's all you're going to say?" exclaimed Rei in shock.

The men turned toward her and she shook her head in wide eyed confusion. "He just dragged a freaking tree into the yard." she replied to their confused gaze. When they didn't seem to understand her point she emphasized it. "The forest is over two miles away!"

"I am sorry. Do you want a larger one?" he asked earnestly. He could have cut down a living tree but felt very wrong about the concept when it was presented to him.

Her left eyelid twitched lightly in response as she stared at him for a moment. Then as the moment passed she growled out a loud huff and stomped her foot before turning around and marching back inside the shrine. The doors closed meaningfully leaving the men to stare at her point of departure.

"Never mind her. Let's get this chopped up!" explained the older man. The winter would be on them soon and this would definitely help. They had central heating and air in the house but it got so expensive that they tended to use the fireplace in the winter. It had vents that would allow the heat to move throughout the house. It could use either gas or wood. Wood, was free to gather, but gas was not.

"Yes, Grandpa." replied the man lightly as he hefted the small axe and brought it down with great force. It did not take very long to cut off several large sections of wood. However, the strength of his blows proved to be too much for the wooden handle of the cutting implement. It broke after only a few minutes of work.

He blinked at the much shorter implement then turned to gaze at his older benefactor. "I.. am sorry."

"It's alright. We've needed a new axe for a while now. This just gives us an excuse to go buy one." replied Grandpa kindly.

"I am glad I did not upset you." replied the a yet unnamed man. He felt a deep desire not to harm or unsettle the individuals helping him as he recovered.

Grandpa Hino smiled lightly at him. He ate like a horse and he tended to break things without meaning to. Still, he radiated a gentle and warm spirit. He was also eager to be helpful. The older man could not help but forgive him for not understanding things. In many ways he was like a child.

….

Chapter 2: What The Hild?

...

"You're serious?" asked Serena as the conversation turned to Rei's unwanted houseguest.

Rei nodded at her as her frown deepened. "He acts like he's so innocent."

"How so? There are people that can pull airplanes around using their hair for a rope. His strength isn't that strange." countered Ami. She had been studying the limits of human capacity as both part of her medical training and as her desire to understand the enhancing effects of their Senshi transformations. She had discovered a whole world of possibilities that she had not known about because of that. Human beings weren't as weak and fragile as she had initially thought.

"Oh yeah! Like that guy on TV who dragged six yachts behind him as he swam a mile, or those freaky martial artists in Nerima?" asked Makoto.

Ami nodded at her.

"He dragged a tree up hill two miles and didn't even look tired." replied Rei. How could they not see that this was abnormal?

"He looks like he could do that. I mean his muscles had muscles!" exclaimed Usagi.

The girls nodded and murmured in agreement. They all knew that much at least. Rei's unnamed house guest was very well put together.

"It's not just that! He's always so nice and polite. It's freaky. No matter what anyone says to him he takes it seriously." explained Rei. She was frustrated at how difficult it was to convince her friends. The only ones on her side were the cats and what kind of support was that really?

"So.. there's like this really strong, nice, polite guy living at your house who is both cute and walks around naked. This is a problem to you why?" asked Makoto.

Rei gaped at her for a second then frowned again. "He's weird, ok!"

"Hello Ms. Rei." stated a soft masculine voice from nearby.

The girls turned as one to stare at the individual they were just talking about.

"Wha..? What are you doing here?" asked Rei in shock.

"Grandpa asked me to come tell you we are going back to the shrine. He wanted to know if he should pick up anything on the way." asked the man lightly with a mildly curious expression.

"Wow, looks just as nice with clothes on.." murmured Makoto as her ability to stop her inner monologue failed spectacularly.

"Idiot! Stop following me. Tell Grandpa if he wants something from me he should just ask me himself!" snapped Rei with more heat than she actually felt. The guy was really starting to bother her. Her fire readings revealed nothing and he always seemed to be around.

"I will tell him for you Ms. Rei." he replied without any hint that he was upset with her outburst and turned away.

The girls measured him with their eyes as he left without excusing himself and walked across the street to a nearby convenience store. Rei's elderly grandfather walked out to meet him. They collectively blinked as they watched the strange house guest through the plate glass window as he silently related what happened to the older man and he began to laugh heartily.

As they left, Rei turned to the girls and exclaimed, "Do you see?"

"He certainly looks healthier than last time." replied Ami thoughtfully.

"The idiot fully recovered two days ago. He doesn't have a scratch or bruise anywhere." grumbled the shrine maiden.

"Know that for a fact do we?" asked Usagi with a naughty grin.

The girl flushed deeply then glared hatefully at her long time friend. "He doesn't seem to understand the meaning of 'decency'."

"What, wait. You've seen him.. like 'that' since he healed?" asked Makoto excitedly.

Rei sighed then turned away and nodded. "Twice. Like I said, he acts all innocent. Then when I yell at him he pretends to be confused or ignores it."

"Heh. So, he's been drinking milk naked in your kitchen again?" snickered Usagi.

Rei growled at her softly for a brief moment then shook her head. "No. The first time I saw him he was just walking around in the house naked."

"Strange." agreed Ami.

"Yeah. So, I yelled at him. I told him he needed to put some clothes on in the house." explained with tight lips.

"What did he say?" asked Makoto.

Rei looked at her and mimicked the man's voice. "I am sorry. Is this a problem? I thought I was not supposed to drink milk this way."

The pony-tailed girl blinked then began to giggle. It was infectious as the other girls, excluding Rei, began to giggle then laugh as well.

The raven haired shrine maiden muttered while shaking her head. "I corrected him, of course."

"Of, course." agreed Ami again with a giddy smile of her own.

"Well, the second time I ran across him naked, guess where he was?" asked Rei.

"Where?" asked Usagi in response.

"He was standing outside hanging out laundry." explained Rei.

"Uh.." replied the blond leader of the group in her customary intelligence.

Ami widened her eyes as she realized what Rei was getting at. "You'd told him he had to put clothes on in the house!"

"Yes." replied Rei. "He turned his head casually and smiled before saying, 'Hello Ms. Rei."

The girls began to laugh at that all over again. It certainly seemed that Rei had her hands full with her new house guest.

"He seems to have made your life interesting." stated Makoto with a smirk.

"Yeah, weird can be good." agreed Usagi with a grin of her own.

Rei shook her head at her friends. "No. That's odd. Weird is how many languages he knows."

"Hmm? He speaks more than Japanese?" asked Ami. She had guessed that he probably spoke at least one other language. He certainly didn't look Japanese.

"As far as I know he speaks at least twelve and can write in at least five." agreed the shrine maiden.

"What? Seriously?" asked Usagi in shock. She barely knew how to pass basic English and her own Japanese grammar skills were limited despite how much she studied.

"How well does he speak them?" asked Makoto, beating Ami to the punch.

"Fluently, I guess. A couple of tour buses brought a bunch of visitors through the shrine two days ago. At least a hundred people came through from all over the place." explained the black haired teenager.

"He could speak to most of them in their native language?" asked Ami.

"He spoke to all of them in their native language. Then he acted like he didn't know what I was talking about when I asked him how he knew German or whatever." replied Rei.

"Really.. wow, that's just.." began Usagi. She couldn't fathom how anyone could speak so many languages.

"It gets weirder. He's like a perfect math whiz too." continued Rei.

"He's good at math?" asked Ami. She loved math and science in general. It was always nice to know of someone else good in her beloved subjects.

The raven haired girl shook her head. "Good isn't the word I'd use."

"Really? He's that good at math?" asked Makoto thoughtfully. She was taking a few college courses on off hours. Her bakery came first but she knew the value of education. Someone that was great at math would be an awesome study partner.

Rei considered how to answer that for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah. Last night I was working on my Calculus home work. He knocked on my door. I answered it with my notebook in hand. After he told me that he'd finished folding the laundry I yelled at him a little for distracting me."

"Ok..." replied Usagi.

The black haired girl continued after her miniature interruption. "Well, as he turns away he glances down and notices my homework. He tells me, 'Ms. Rei, you misspelled that."

"I can't remember exactly what he said, but that's pretty much what he meant."

"Misspelled? I thought you were doing math?" asked Makoto.

"Yeah, I was. I even told him that." replied the girl before she told them that he disagreed with her again and mimicked his voice, "But MS. Rei it's seventeen something something, not four hundred something something."

"Something something?" asked Ami.

Rei rolled her eyes. "It was a long decimal number. I can't remember what they were."

"Ah." replied the blue haired girl.

"We argued for a brief moment. Well, as much as he seems to be able to argue. Then I told him I'd prove it and flipped to the back of the book to find the answer." continued the girl.

"Was he right?" asked Usagi.

Rei nodded. "I was mad about it too so I told him 'Fine, then If you're so smart you do it!"

"And?" continued Usagi.

"He did it. I'd been working on those stupid math problems for two hours and wasn't even halfway done. He just breezed through them in less than a minute." admitted the girl with a strange look in her eye.

"What? Seriously? How.." asked Usagi. The girls were quiet for a short time.

Ami supplied an answer after a brief moment. "Technically speaking, Math is a type of language."

"You're kidding. Ami.. that's.." began Rei. That was ridiculous. Math might be a language but it wasn't like learning English or Chinese. You didn't just memorize every single possible equation in existence.

"Well, you said he had an extraordinary facility with languages." replied the girl.

Rei nodded. "Well.. Yeah. He even acts like he understands what Deimos and Phobos are saying when they caw. Freaky thing is that he talks back to them in Japanese and they act like they understand him."

"He sounds like he's super intelligent." remarked Makoto with wide eyes. She wished she could do math like that.

"That's the thing. He can do stuff like that but he acted like he didn't even know how to put clothes on or what an axe was."

"It's that bad?" asked Ami.

"He's like a super smart child. The guy spent ten minutes staring into the refrigerator yesterday when I asked him to get the orange juice out of it for breakfast."

"You're kidding?" asked Usagi. When Rei shook her head the girls each took a moment to process that.

"He seems to be able to function well enough, it's just that he acts like he doesn't know what things are. The toilet for instance. I wish he had figured that one out sooner. We burned his first bed sheets and there are still places outside I just can't walk around."

"Uh.. eww." remarked Makoto as she wrinkled her nose. None of the other girls disagreed with her response.

They chatted for a while and eventually the topic turned to other guys besides Rei's house guest. Teenage girls were odd like that.

….

Five more fun-filled days had passed in the Hino household when once again life would once again cause a series of events to occur that would change things irreparably. These events began with a rather common occurrence. The unwanted house guest had broken something and they needed to replace it. At this point even Grandpa had begun to feel a little annoyed at the man.

The man simply did not know his own strength. He'd broken several more tools, a few drinking glasses and dinner plates, and even managed to crack the toilet. How the last item had broken no one was certain and no one was interested in really finding out.

The house guest that had started out as a godsend was rapidly depleting the little home's funds simply feeding him and replacing the things he broke. He ate like he was starving to death half the time. The strange thing was that he didn't seem to be gaining any weight. He'd only been there slightly over a week, but still with constant eating those shredded abdominal muscles of his should at least be less ripped.

Thus, did the man find himself wandering the streets of Juuban trying to find something called 'work'. Grandpa Hino had left for the weekend to visit old friends somehow trusting a strange man to be home alone with his only granddaughter. When the house guest had broken a dishwasher full of plates Rei had sent him packing with the commandment to 'find a real job'.

Unfortunately, she didn't explain what that was exactly. Several hours of wandering the streets had led to the man asking everyone he saw where he could find a real job. Most thought he was being funny and a few threatened him despite his intimidating size.

Eventually, he ran across a location with several silhouettes of women on the outside with a sign that read, 'Girls, Girls, Girls.'

On a poster outside he read about how they were offering work for those interested. He wasn't certain if this was a place that could direct him to a real job but he thought that someone inside might know what work was.

Loud rock and techno music beat in the background as he approached a seated individual that had a bored expression. "Two thousand yen to get in."

"What are yen?" asked the man in confusion.

"Dude. I don't have time for all that. Ya pay or go away."

"Uhm.." replied the man to the doorman. "I came to find work?"

"Huh? Oh. Sure. Sorry. Go talk to Sonny. He's in charge of that." remarked the man with a yawn. This place was always dead at this time of day and it got to him.

The confused foreigner blinked then smiled lightly. "Alright. Where is Sonny?"

"Inside, ask at the bar. Hey and no looking at the chicks, you're 'sposed to pay for that ya know." replied the man with a smirk.

"Oh. Ok." he said in reply before walking through the door. When he did not see any baby chickens he felt he was keeping his promise. He did wonder why so many women were running around in skimpy outfits, however.

He moved through the building as a hard techno beat played in the background. The rhythm was interesting but he didn't have time to revel in it. He had to find the 'Sonny' that was mentioned.

He tried to determine what bar the nice doorman had meant but he saw several. The fact that the only type of bar he knew of currently also happened to be synonymous with 'long pole' didn't help. It was only natural that he would consider the vertical poles sticking up from the nearby stages as the proper place to go. He just wasn't sure which bar was the right one.

The foreign man sat in a chair near the stage and watched as an overly perky and quite busty lady of equally foreign decent performed her dance routine. She was wearing a blue outfit similar to something that might have been right at home in an Arabian harem.

The man gazed at her as she danced and whirled erotically with her glorious white hair spinning wildly. It did not take long for her to notice him as well. As the patrons threw money and the occasional bit of jewelry up on stage she began to gravitate toward the only individual that was not giving any offerings to her dance.

Rei's constant annoyance continued to smile happily at the dancing woman as she span and gyrated in his direction. The beauty of her face and form were not lost on him but unlike the other patron's he was not overcome with lust and desire for her. Such emotions were generally lost on him in his present state. Instead of the personification of hot naughty goodness, he saw a nearly naked woman dancing with a pole.

'What's this guy's deal?' asked the platinum blond as she continued to make the crowd hot and bothered without ever taking so much as her top off. It was beyond strange that he would look at her with rapt attention but without obvious lust.

Soon, the song ended and the announcer called out, "That was amature entry number five Mistress Urd. Give her a hand and a few more tips folks!"

"Amature?" scoffed Urd before unleashing a devastatingly sexy smirk. She'd been exciting the male populace since before Japan was even a country. There wasn't a single male in existence that could withstand her. Well, not usually anyway.

The white haired vision of loveliness exited the stage after collecting her tips and assorted jewelry. Her only non-paying fan smiled lightly. That had certainly been a nice thing to watch.

The still unnamed man pondered what he should do for a moment as another nearly naked woman came out and began to shake what her mama gave her. Strangely, he wasn't as interested this time. She was beautiful, without a doubt. However, she seemed to be missing something indefinable.

He decided this must not be the bar he was supposed to wait at. A few minutes later he had made his rounds through the are and eventually came up to a place with several stools and a blond woman working behind some sort of counter.

"Why hello what will you have?" asked the girl as she eyed him critically. She had interesting marks on her cheeks and forehead that drew his eyes for a moment.

"I was told to wait by a bar for a Sonny." he replied with a soft smile.

"Hmm? You looking for the club owner? He's in the back. Hang out for a bit, he'll pop up soon. Want anything while you wait?" she asked with supreme joy. She seemed remarkably happy to serve him.

He considered her question for a moment, then shook his head. "I came here for a real job that pays money."

She chuckled at him lightly then nodded. "I hear ya. This economy is terrible. I lost my last job just because I threw a box lunch at a customer and ran off during my shift."

"Hey Mara! I'm goin dry!" called out a scrawny man wearing mirror shades. He looked like a cross between a bird of prey and a weasel, but he had a friendly smile.

"Hold your horses Daisuke. You know I'll keep ya wet!" laughed the busty woman as she filled another mug with the local brew.

The foreigner smiled at the friendly banter between the two. They seemed like rather nice people.

He blinked as a pair of well tanned arms slid around his shoulders. This was not something he had expected but it didn't seem threatening in any way. The man tilted his head to the side and glanced into the eyes of the woman he had seen dancing on stage earlier.

"Well, hi there." she said with a half purr.

He smiled happily at her as he took in her violet eyes and equally interesting red facial markings. "Oh. Hello Ms. Urd."

"Oh, please. Urd is my stage name handsome. Call me Hild."

He nodded. "Oh. Ok, Ms. Hild."

She blinked at him and tried to comprehend his nonchalant manner. It was beyond odd. She was wrapped around him with her legendary assets firmly pressed against his back and he acted like it didn't matter.

The platinum blond was about to ask him a few questions that had occurred to her but the owner of the club chose to come out of his office just then. He went down to the bar and asked, "Hey Mara, everything going alright?"

Sonny was a short man, but he carried his lesser height with more dignity than one might expect from a strip club owner. It wasn't a massive or upscale establishment but he was wearing a suit and seemed to take his business seriously.

"Yes, sir! All the club goers seem very happy." replied Mara with a smile and a give-em-hell attitude. Most people would be unnerved by her fangs but Sonny had seen all manner of people in his line of work.

"Excellent." he replied with a smile to match her own. He turned to Hild and the man she was draped around.

"So, you won again tonight I see." he said to the white haired woman.

She smirked. "It's not like I have any real competition. It gets boring after a while, actually."

"I still appreciate you signing that contract with me. This place has really come along since you and Mara came on board."

"Well, technically that was Mara. I'm just here to beat my boredom and keep an eye on her." replied Hild with a dangerous smile.

The club owner shuddered lightly at the implications of that smile. He knew exactly who he was talking to and was trying to be as polite as possible.

"So, uh, who's your friend?" he asked curiously.

Hild mussed her current plaything's hair and said, "I didn't even ask yet. What is your name handsome?"

The man in question blinked and shook his head. "I don't know. Ms. Rei calls me Baka now and then."

"You don't know your name?" asked Sonny with a frown.

"I don't remember anything from before grandpa found me in the woods a few weeks ago." he replied with a pensive expression.

"That's terrible!" exclaimed Mara with sadness etched in her facial expression. Despite what she was, she had moments of genuine compassion that did shine through.

"Isn't it though? You poor thing, no memories at all?" asked the scantily clad woman.

He shook his head then blinked. "Well, sometimes I think I remember things. There was this dark, lonely place. I didn't like it very much. Then I heard a voice. It might have been a dream though."

"Hmm. Maybe." replied Hild thoughtfully. A dark and lonely place could be any number of things.

Sonny noted all the interest in the young man from his contracted demon hireling and her mistress. He decided to get in on the conversation a bit more since it might lead to improved relations. "Why did you come to my establishment? I'm always happy to see a new face, but you'd probably be better off in a hospital or something."

The man nodded at him. "Ms. Rei told me I should go acquire a 'real job'. She thinks I don't know my own strength because I break things without meaning to."

"Oh? What kind of things?" asked Sonny thoughtfully. He was a big guy, probably clumsy too.

The man considered for a moment then related a long list of random items and assorted appliances.

The man let out a low whistle. "That's a lot of stuff. Must cost them a fortune to keep you around."

He nodded at him. "Rei has said that. Grandpa told me I do enough to help out that it's ok."

"Grandpa's the one who found you in the woods right?" asked Mara with a smile.

"Yes. He dragged me to the shrine and took care of me."

"Shrine?" asked Hild carefully.

Her current hugging partner nodded again. "Yes. I am currently living with him and Ms. Rei at the Hikawa shrine."

"Oh yeah, that's a fairly popular shrine." babbled Daisuke after downing his drink.

"It is?" asked Sonny. He had not really bothered with religious observances much in his life.

Daisuke nodded at him. "The priestess is a babe and her grandfather's a horndog."

"Ms. Rei is not a child. Grandpa isn't a dog. Perhaps you are thinking of another shrine, sir?" asked the job-hunter sincerely.

"You for real?" asked Daisuke with an incredulous expression.

"I don't know how to answer that." replied the memory challenged individual after a brief moment of thought.

Hild laughed softly at the banter. This guy seemed like a sweet heart. Perhaps she should corrupt him. It might be fun.

Sonny considered the strange man in front of him for a moment then blinked. Something about him seemed familiar. He wasn't certain what it was for a moment until Daisuke brought it up.

"Heh, a real comedian." stated Daisuke before muttering, "Dark knight looking mother fucker."

"Dark knight!" exclaimed Sonny excitedly.

All of the patrons nearby turned to look at him in shock. What was he shouting about?

"Uh, sorry. I just realized you looked a little like someone I recognized.."

"Really?" asked the man happily. Maybe he'd learn who he was.

Hild and Mara glanced over at the bar owner expectantly.

He wilted a little under the scrutiny, but answered anyway. "Yeah, but it's just a fictional character. You look like Dark Knight 'Scott' from the Pokegirl Chronicles."

"Oh! So, I might be this person?" asked the man excitedly.

"Uh, no. Like I said, he's fictional. You do look a bit like him though. Even the live action version's actor doesn't match up nearly so well."

The man nodded lightly. "Oh. It would have been nice to have a name. For a while I thought it might be hey you or baka."

Hild snuggled against his back suggestively and said, "Why not claim the name of that character then? If you look like him, it's a good place to start rebuilding your life."

Mara blinked at her mistress' almost compassion. That niceness she was exuding was creepy.

"Well, Grandpa did say I was wearing some kind of black armor when he found me. So, taking the name of a dark knight might not be so bad." admitted the man.

"So, Scott it is then?" asked Hild with a seductive purr of air into his ear.

"Ms. Hild?" asked Scott.

"Yes, Scott?"

"That tickles." he replied with a light giggle.

"Oh how darling!" she cooed before blowing in his ear yet again. Scott giggled again and squirmed. "Please stop. It tickles!"

Mara took an involuntary step back and held her hands up as though she wanted to fend off the disturbing image before her. The queen of hell was tickling and giggling with an amnesiac guy who named himself after a fictional character.

Sonny waited a few minutes to see if the activities before him would stop. The last thing he wanted to do was disturb Hild. That could have dire consequences.

When the antics began to die down he told the newly named individual, "I might be able to hire you on as a runner or security. Think you could handle that?"

"I can run pretty fast according to Ms. Rei. Uhm, security.. does that mean protecting people?"

"Yes."

Scott nodded at him. "I like protecting people." eliciting a small smile from Mara. He sounded nice.

"Oooh, my hero." purred Hild. He sounded like a goody two-shoes. Still, he was currently more interesting that shaking her ass on a stage for a bunch of drunken humans.

"I'll give you a shot at security. Come back tomorrow around this time and we'll fill out the paperwork. I need to get going. Till then, feel free to hang around and get a feel for the place."

The newly named individual beamed a bright smile at him. "Thank you! I'm sure a real job will make Ms. Rei happy."

"You mention her a lot. Is she like your girlfriend or something?" asked Daisuke, thinking about the hot temple maiden.

Scott thought about that for a moment. She was female and he thought of her as a friend. However, she did not seem overly friendly toward him. "No, we just live together."

Hild chuckled at how he phrased that bit of probably unintended innuendo.

"Oh! Uhm, I should ask. I am supposed to wear clothing while working right? Ms. Rei told me I had to wear clothes in the house and outside, but this isn't a house and some people are naked." asked Scott seriously.

Mara had to choke down her incredulous laughter. Did he really just ask that?

"Uh.. I'd appreciate it if you wore clothes to work, yes." replied Sonny with a gnawing sensation of impending dread growing in his stomach. Scott smiled and nodded in kind before saying, "Ok!" with a perky upbeat inflection.

Scott and his new infernal companions chatted in a friendly manner for a good while after that. They seemed very nice and he had to admit that Ms. Hild was certainly very comfortable around him. She could not seem to stop wanting to hug him even if she occasionally seemed annoyed about something.

…

AN: Well, there's chapter 2. Feel free to read and review people!


	3. Kitty

Brief Author's Note: I don't know what the hell happened to my formatting in the first 2 chapters. I re-entered the text and it SHOULD be much more legible now. It looked perfectly fine when I previewed it before, but the site ate my spacing. :(

Thanks go to Colin for informing me of the terrible formatting. It all looks proper now, but it looked proper when I checked it the first time too.

...

"VENUS.. CRESCENT BEAM ..SMAAASH!" exclaimed a sailor suited blond girl before a beam of coherent high yield plasma lanced out to slam into a creature which resembled a scaly rat and a midget. In the foreground an individual in black armor pressed an attack of his own with a sword, cutting a swath of devastation through a small horde of the same creatures.

Scott rolled over in his sleep as the dream continued. Soon a creature that was half elf and half spider arrived on the scene. She began throwing chocolate chip cookies around while screaming about the Tollhouse Corporation and the dread god Anthrasax.

During the chaotic battle scene heavy metal music played in the background, complete with song lyrics by Ronnie James Dio. Throughout the entire affair, and the subsequent hot naughty man on blond on spider-girl three way action, the armored individual never took off his mask.

As the spider-girl screamed out, "Fudge Thunder Riot!" the thoroughly confused man woke up in a cold sweat. He could not recall anything but dream fragments for a moment and then even those faded. All he knew after that was the burning desire to acquire a glass of milk.

...

Chapter 3: Kitty

...

"Thank you, so much young man!" exclaimed an elderly woman as she glanced back out of her driver's window at Scott. He was currently pushing her car uphill at a steady twenty mile per hour pace. The poor old dear had given out of gas half way to the hiltop gas station and ended up rolling a quarter mile before remembering she could simply put the brake on.

Scott smiled innocently and continued to jog the car up the steep incline without any apparent effort. It was nice to help people.

When the vehicle crested the hill the senior citizen behind the wheel steered it toward the gas station and the vehicle entered at a steady clip. Scott realized that he was going too fast, however and did his best to slow the car down by pushing on the boot. His hands slid back a little as his feet dragged against the asphalt, causing him to blink in confusion.

Thankfully the little old lady driving the beat up car had enough coherency of thought to lightly apply the breaks. The vehicle slowed to a halt just shy of the pump, requiring Scott to nudge it forward another few feet so the hose might reach.

While the memory challenged man from another world made friends and influenced the elderly there was a conversation going on at the Hikawa shrine that would influence a great deal more in the future.

"Look Grandpa, Scott has to have family somewhere! Why isn't he at the hospital? Why won't you call the police?" demanded Rei questioningly.

Grandpa Hino sighed at his overly interested granddaughter and shook his head. At first it seemed like it might be fun to torment her with the secret, but as it stood the arguments were becoming too much to bare. "Rei. Can't you just accept that it isn't an option?"

"No! Where did he come from? Who is he? Why is he here! You know! Tell me!" repeated the raven haired shrine maiden for the fifth time that day.

Grandpad sighed once again and shook his head. "What do you talk about in the shrine with your friends Rei?"

She frowned at him and started to say, "That's none of your.." but he cut her off. "When you are willing to be honest with me about what you and your friends do, then i'll be honest about what I know."

"What we do? Come on Grandpa.. we're just teenagers gossiping." remarked the girl as she averted her eyes. She hated lying to him, but he just would not understand.

The elder frowned at her and replied, "You really think I'm just a clueless old man don't you? Does it occur to you that I used to do the same things when I was younger?"

"I doubt that." replied the girl with a snort.

"Of course. Frail old Grandpa Hino couldn't possibly know about fighting monsters and demons. He just runs a shinto shrine and taught you everything you know about expelling and binding evil spirits." remarked the older man with a hard edge to his voice.

"Grandpa, what are.." began Rei but he cut her off once again.

"I've known about what you do for a long time Rei. You and your friends are not that quiet when you talk. It simply saddens me to think you don't trust me enough to talk to me about it."

Rei blinked and then stared at her grandfather for a moment in shocked silence before asking, "What have you heard?"

The older man gave her a half-smile then nodded. "I don't know what ancient kingdom you used to live in or anything about the enemies you fight. However, I do know that you fight them. Apparently, there is some sort of reincarnation aspect involved but all I know is what I overheard. It scares me Rei. You aren't properly trained for that level of conflict."

"There's no one that can train us Grandpa. We're all we have." replied the shrine maiden sadly.

"Were you always this full of yourself Rei?" he asked her curiously, before turning and walking toward the hallway.

"What? Hey! What do you mean by that!" she asked excitedly while moving to follow him.

His only response was to lift his hand to reveal a simple iron key.

"The key to the head priest's room?" she asked slowly. There was only one room in the entire house that even she was forbidden to enter. For a long time her grandfather had claimed that it was tradition that only the head priest ever enter.

"I never wanted you to get involved in the sort of thing you are dealing with now Rei." he replied softly while continuing to walk. When they approached his private quarters he opened the door and allowed her to follow him inside. At the far end of the room was another door. There was nothing fancy or note worthy about it physically. However, the mystery of what lay beyond that door had nagged at Rei on occasion for several years.

Grandpa Hino unlocked the door and took a deep breath. After his moment of gathering his courage he turned his head toward Rei and said, "Please do not tell anyone about this."

She nodded down at him and said, "I promise."

He gazed at her solemnly for a moment and opened the door. The two of them moved inside and Rei was greeted to the sight of a smallish room that would have seemed unremarkable save for the glass cases against the back wall. Off to the side there rested what seemed to be incredibly damaged body armor, a large sword in its sheath, and a few bits of metal.

"What is all this Grandpa?" she asked him curiously.

He glanced at her then pointed at the damaged armor. "That's Scott's stuff. He had it with him when I found him in the woods."

"You found him in the woods?" she asked with wide eyes.

The old man nodded but ignored her follow up questions and gestured toward the glass cases in the back. "My old equipment lies within those cases."

"Equipment?"

"There was a time when I was a devil hunter. I worked with a small team that kept the countryside safe from demons and youma." explained the old man after walking over to the case.

Rei blinked at him and walked over to the cases. Inside she saw a simple set of shinto robes, a wooden sword, a few empty bottles, and a series of faded black and white photos. There were a few other items, but those caught her eye the easiest.

"You were a devil hunter?" she wondered aloud as her eyes roved over the slightly faded picture. She did a double take as one of the people in the picture looked somewhat familiar other than her grandfather.

"You noticed, hmm?" he asked her with a sad edge to his voice.

"Mom.." she said with a trailing voice.

Grandpa nodded slowly. "We took that a few weeks before she was taken from us."

"Oh." she said softly. The girl still could not believe her mother had become sick and died so fast. She was only seven years old at the time.

"She was the best hunter of her generation." he said softly as the tears began to flow softly. This shrine to his past was a private place until now. He did not wish to share it with anyone.

"Wait. Mom was a devil hunter?" asked the girl incredulously. The mother she remembered was sweet, demure, and baked cookies. The idea of her fighting demons and monsters did not mesh.

"Yes. When I retired she took up the call. For ten years she hunted the monsters that plagued our world. Then a greater monster than she could slay came for her."

"It did?" asked Rei with wide innocent eyes.

"Even a demon hunter can die of illness Rei. Her own body betrayed her, that much is still true."

The duo grew very sad and silence reigned within the small room for a moment. Eventually Rei asked, "So, you've known about what I do all this time and never asked?"

"I did ask Rei. I just never pried. I wanted you to be able to trust me, talk to me, like you did as a little girl." replied Grandpa as he stood staring at his memories of the past.

"Grandpa. I..I'm sorry. I didn't know. I thought we were.." began the girl.

"Alone?"

"Yeah."

He nodded slowly and turned toward her. "We always think that. I certainly did at first too. Every hunted usually starts alone and meets allies along the way. There are plenty of demons and monsters in the world. There are also plenty of us who hunt them at some point in our lives."

Rei nodded. She was beginning to see that. "Who are these other people?"

Grandpa smiled softly. "That's the old group. It's three generations of hunters that you are witnessing dear."

The girl tilted her head to the side and noted the happy smiles and closeness of the group. Maybe it was true. Maybe they really were not alone? They had not met any other people capable of fighting youma, but the idea that they were not alone was heartening.

The two discussed life, the universe, and monster hunting for a while before the thought crossed Rei's mind that she still needed to get answers about Scott. Learning about the family legacy was great, but they still had a strange often naked man living in their house.

"Grandpa. Can you please tell me what you know about him?" asked the girl slowly.

The old man glanced at her and assumed he knew the answer to who 'him' was. "Rei. I'll tell you, but you might not like it."

"Ok. Spill!" she replied quickly.

The shrine priest took a deep breath and walked over to their groundskeeper's equipment. "I was taking a walk in the woods the day I found him."

She listened as her grandfather explained the discovery of their new tenant. The horrible injuries he seemed to have were not surprising. She had seen them for herself. The fact that he was dressed in futuristic body armor and carried a sword was something else.

Rei looked over the items her grandfather brought back while he told her about carrying the man through the woods. As the short story progressed she noted several small balls sitting inside an open pouch.

"Hey, Grandpa? What are these?"

"I don't know. I found them along with his stuff. He has a few other things in there too."

Rei picked up one of the balls and noticed that it had a prominent button on it. She was curious about its purpose and this lead to her pressing said button. The marble sized device suddenly grew to the size of a softball in her hand.

"What?" exclaimed the girl as she dropped it instinctively. Upon hitting the ground, the button was pressed once again causing it to open readily. A distinctive beep was heard but nothing else.

When nothing further happened she picked it up slowly and looked inside. The device seemed to be hollow.

"Maybe it's some kind of container?" she asked her grandfather then with an incredulous expression.

"Who knows. I didn't open any of them since I had no idea what they were."

Rei thought about it for a brief second then her eyes widened. "Maybe these things have something in them that can tell us who he is? They might be like luggage or something."

"Luggage? I really don't think anything that big would fit in there Rei." remarked her grandfather with a soft chuckle.

"Hey, it's worth a try."

The old man shrugged and she took that as the closest thing to an answer that she might get. Rei picked up the next ball and opened it revealing once again that nothing was inside. She placed it down and picked up the next ball.

When she activated this particular spherical storage device a most peculiar thing occurred. A beam of bright red light shot out and away from her location to a nearby empty space. A feminine form quickly coalesced from the light in a prone position.

"Wha.. a girl?" asked Grandpa in shock.

Rei blinked at the girl on the floor as she slowly started to bleed. "She, was in the ball? There was a girl in the ball!"

"She's hurt! We need to do something!" exclaimed Grandpa as he moved over to check her wounds.

"She's, a girl and she came from inside a ball.." explained Rei one more time as she tried to wrap her mind around the concept.

"Rei! Focus. She's hurt pretty badly. We need to get her some help!" exclaimed her elder.

She snapped out of her light daze and ran over to attend to the girl on the ground. It did not take long to notice the cat ears and tail.

"What.. is she? Some kind of cosplayer?" asked the shrine maiden.

The girl lying on the ground slowly became coherent and tried to sit up but they wouldn't allow it yet.

When she began to speak in a strange hodge-podge language that sounded similar to English they were confused for a moment. She seemed to be having trouble speaking as well.

Rei tried to talk to her using her somewhat limited English speaking skills. "Ru, Herro. Who ru is beingu?"

"Scoorrtt." came the reply the pained reply. Pained sobs started to wrack her body as she tried once again to sit up.

"Scorrut? You Scorrut name is?" asked the girl as her grandfather continued to check for damage.

"Scort?" asked Grandpa in slightly better Engrish.

The girl's ears flattened as she started to curl into a fetal ball. "Scoorr-rrrtt."

Rei blinked. Switching back to Japanese for a moment she said, "You know it almost sounds like she's saying Scott."

Grandpa nodded at her. She seemed to be having serious trouble talking, but it did sound like she was saying Scott.

"What do we do? Those ears look real. We can't just take her to a hospital."

"She's bleeding pretty bad. I think I saw some gauze in that pouch of his. Bring it to me." replied Grandpa as he tried to figure out what they should do for this poor girl-cat.

Rei ran over to the pouch and brought it back to her grandfather. He rifled through its contents and found the gauze he sought. The shrine maiden decided to check the pouch out further in case she might find something else useful and pulled out a few items.

One thing looked promising. It was written in fairly standard english. It read: P-Med: Max. She read the small print instructions below and saw that it was some sort of healing agent meant for use on the badly injured.

"Grandpa?" she asked to her elder as she wrapped a bandage around the torn flesh of the sobbing girl's head.

"What Rei?"

"This thing claims it's some kind of medication for the injured."

Grandpa looked up at it then back down at the sobbing girl who was already starting to bleed through the gauze he had wrapped her face in. "Does it say how to use it?"

The shrine maiden glanced at the P-med again then said, "Yeah. It does."

"Try it, but just a little. We don't know what it'll do." he said after a minute of hearing the girl sob in pain.

Rei took a deep breath and knelt down next to the curled up catgirl. The P-med dispenser was placed against her neck for a brief second before the girl closed her eyes quickly. As her eyes closed she pressed the dispensing button and a soft 'pfft' sound was hard as the medical agent quickly entered the prone girl's bloodstream.

The shrine maiden and her devout, sometimes perverted, grandfather did the only thing they could then. They knelt down and waited. They could not take her to the hospital and there was little else they could do about her injuries except move her to a bed.

"Think she was fighting whatever hurt Scott?" asked Rei at last.

"It's a good chance. You saw how badly beaten he looked." replied the old timer as the minutes dragged on.

The sobs slowly stopped and the girl seemed to be breathing easier after the fifth minute. Had they been watching the clock minute seven would have had her teeth regrown. Minute ten would have seen her eyes opening.

However, since neither of them were particularly inclined to watch a clock at the moment, they had no idea how long it took for the girl to heal. Grandpa was about to suggest they try bracing her neck and moving her to his bed when her ears perked up.

The girl sat up slowly despite their protests and turned to look up at the location of the closest of these vocal commands. Her eyes locked onto the eyes of someone that looked incredibly familiar to her.

The catgirl widened her own eyes in surprise as she stared at her pre-threshold doppelganger. "Who, arrre, you?"

Rei noted the light purred inflection in the vaguely English sounding words. However, she responded in perfectly clear, Engrish. "Iru Hino Rei beingu. Who ru is beingu?"

The catgirl gaped at her like a fish, the damage which had been so terrible slowly fading away. It did not take long before Hino Rei began to gape on her own.

"Rei? What is it?" asked her grandfather.

"Grrrandpa?" the English speaking catgirl asked in surprise before turning to the wizened old fart. Her eyes lit up in surprise and joy before exclaiming. "Grrrandpa!"

The short elderly gentleman suddenly found himself glomped by a well endowed, thoroughly healed catgirl. She hugged him fiercely and started to cry while babbling his name repeatedly.

"Rei?" asked the man again as the girl perked her ears up and nodded against him.

"I, don't.. I don't.. This can't be happening." replied the shrine maiden as she watched a bustier somewhat feline version of herself snuggle close against her grandfather.

"Grrrandpa.." whimpered the girl as she sobbed against the man.

They were at a loss for words for the moment. It wasn't until she finally became very still and pulled back suddenly. "Grrrandpa! Wherrre arrre the otherrrs? Arrre they here? Wherrre's Scott? Did we beat Jedite?"

"Jedite?" asked native Rei with wide eyes. How could this catgirl with her face know about the dark kingdom?

Hearing that hated name, catgirl Rei turned back to the other Rei and blinked. "Yeah. I, we werrre fighting him and then.. then.. I don't know."

"Wherrre's Scott?"

"Sukotto? Sukutto, ru knoring isu?" replied Hino Rei in Engrish.

Catgirl Rei blinked as she tried to decipher the strangely inflicted words she was hearing. After a moment she nodded slowly. "Scott! Wherre is he? Is he ok?"

Grandpa decided to talk to the strange feline girl since his language skills were a little better than his granddaughter's. "Large man Scott, sword having? Armor black?"

"Well, yeah? Grrandpa! You know Scott!" remarked the girl in confusion, her tail lashing the air in agitation.

Just to be certain he pointed at the armor on the shelf and asked. "That his being?"

Catgirl Rei turned to the direction he was pointing and her heart began to hammer in her chest. "His arrmorrr! It's brroken.. Why didn't he fix it..?"

"Grrandpa.. Scott's Ok, rrright?" asked the girl as she turned back with wide fearful eyes.

The man nodded slowly. He was not certain how to answer that.

The catgirl sighed deeply in relief at seeing that. She wasn't sure what was going on or why her grandfather was speaking so oddly. All she knew was that she was alive and needed to find out about the others.

"What about Minako and Rrryoko? Arre the other's ok? Did the Tigerr save them? Is it overrr?" she babbled at the man with tears coming to her eyes.

"Minako ru knoweru?" asked Hino Rei curiously.

Catgirl Rei turned back to her freaky doppelganger and nodded quickly. "Minako Alpha, leaderrr. Scott found herrr firrst.. Who arre you? Why do you look like me beforrre I..?"

"Ru Told I didu. Hino Rei Beingu name."

"You can't be.. I'm Rrrei Hino." remarked the catgirl obviously.

The local Rei frowned at her and shook her head. The nerve of this girl. Still, it seems they would at least be able to solve the mystery of their house guest since she seemed to know him.

A series of minor arguments erupted back and forth for a short time about the nature of the true Rei Hino. In the end, the girls decided that they just didn't want to argue about it anymore for the time being.

The alternate universal Rei's frowned at each other in near mirror image fashion for a short while thereafter. Grandpa took the opportunity to begin attempting to fill the catgirl in on what had happened.

Catgirl Rei widened her eyes in shock as he went into detail about finding Scott in the woods injured. She became concerned as he explained about his amnesia and the current situation.

The catgirl kept her own counsel for a moment as tears began to fall freely from her eyes. Even with the explanation, there was no way to know exactly what happened. All she knew was that right now, she felt very alone.

...

Scott jogged up the steps to the Hikawa shrine a few hours after Rei let the cat out of the bag, or ball as it were. His day had been spent constantly running across people in need of help. Some of them he helped. Other individual's seemed worse off than before and swore they would sue him for damages. Either way, it had been a productive day after he had finished working at the strip club.

Hild and Mara were not in attendance during his shift, and he spent most of his time standing around watching people. He hadn't been certain what would constitute being suspicious but he had been instructed to watch for it.

He walked into the living residence quietly not long after ascending the stairs. The sound of voices talking rapidly drew his attention toward Grandpa's room.

Neither of the occupants saw him as he walked in, but the moment he spoke a word of greeting all eyes were on him. Scott blinked lightly for a moment as he registered how much the individual laying in bed looked like Ms. Rei.

"Scott.." stated the girl with the feline ears before she began to breath harder. Tears formed along the edges of her eyes not long after.

"Uhm.." began the man. However, before he could ask her who she was the girl lept toward him and wrapped her arms tightly around his torso.

The man was unable to determine what was going on but he had an instinctive desire to lightly stroke the obviously distraught girl's hair. As he pet the kitty, her tail lashed out then curled lightly around his waist.

For a time there was silence then, softly he asked, "Arrre you alrrright?"

Catgirl Rei pulled back a little a sniffled lightly. "Scott. I was so scarrred. They said you were hurrrt. Did you rrreally lose yourrr memorrry?"

"I..Yes. I don't really know who I am." he replied in mild confusion. She seemed to be very friendly, and there was something about her he couldn't quite place. Somehow it felt right to let her be this close.

"But you knew yourrr name?" asked the girl curiously as she looked up at him.

"My name? Oh.. no I was given this name because I looked like someone." replied the man with an uncomprehending face.

"Rrreally? That's so weirrrd!" exclaimed the feline pokegirl

"It is?" he asked curiously. Was Scott a weird name then?

"Well, it is yourrr name. Yourrr rrreal name." remarked the girl with a soft sigh. The sight and smell of him really helped put her at ease. The house and even her Grandpa had smelled off. Scott still smelled like Scott. He smelled warm and safe.

"Oh? So, you know me then?" he asked with a sudden goofy smile.

"Well yeah! We arre engaged afterrr all!" she remarked with a huff.

He took a moment to process that thought then asked the obvious question. "Um. What's engaged mean?"

Catgirl Rei flushed prettily and looked down toward the ground while her ears flattened slightly. It was obviously a question that she was a bit shy to answer. Local Rei supplied the answer, however.

"It means you are planning to get married."

He pondered that a moment then started to ask what married meant but she beat him to it. "It means you are planning to spend your lives together."

"Oh." he said simply while stroking the feline pokegirl. She seemed like a very nice person. Spending his life with her didn't seem so bad. Close friends are a good thing.

Catgirl Rei sighed softly under the light petting while her tail lashed gently. It was hard to believe he did not have his memories. Nothing about the situation was easy to swallow actually. For all she knew he was the only one of their friends she would ever see again.

Scott smiled softly then slowly realized something. "I was badly hurt when Grandpa found me. Are you alright Ms.. uhm..Kitty? If you know me where were you?"

"I was in my pokeball." she replied. The lack of the letter r in any of the words she spoke actually allowed her voice to sound clear.

"Pokeball?" asked local Rei. Something about that sounded vaguely familiar.

"Oh! Are you a pokegirl then? I know what those are." exclaimed the man happily.

"You do? Are your memories coming back?" asked Grandpa curiously. Perhaps seeing his fiance had helped him reclaim some of who he was.

Scott shook his head. "No. Sonny taught me."

"Who's Sonny?" asked local Rei. How would anyone know what this girl was. Little balls that keep catgirls at pocket-size were not exactly common technology. Well, she thought they weren't.

"He's the man who gave me a real job like you asked." replied Scott with a smile.

"Oh you found work?" asked Grandpa with a light smile of his own. "Where at?"

Scott glanced over at him and said, "The Pink Kitty Lounge."

Grandpa's eyes bugged a little then a goofy little smile crossed his features. "Is that so."

"What's the Pink Kitty Lounge?" asked local Rei with a bit of trepidation.

Her grandfather replied, "A gentleman's club."

She blinked then wrinkled her nose slightly. Catgirl Rei rolled her eyes and muttered something that sounds like, "Figurrres."

"What figures, other Ms. Fiance?" asked Scott as he continued to try and discern a proper name for the girl who was currently snuggled against him.

The catgirl blushed prettily then looked up at him while following the action with a derisive snort. "No matterrr wherrre you go therrre arrre a dozen girrrls who want to be naked arrround you."

"I want to be naked too, but Ms. Rei says it's not right." replied the man sadly. Clothes were ever so restrictive.

"Good girrrl." remarked the catgirl with a soft laugh.

Local Rei blinked and glanced down at her grandfather. "How did you know the place he worked at?"

Grandpa chuckled and shook his head. "Now now, Rei."

"That's not an answer you know." remarked the girl in a suspicious tone.

"No, it isn't."

Her disapproving murmur carried across the room as Scott continued to pet his catgirl love interest. She seemed familiar and very nice, but he had no idea who she was. Though she did look a little like someone in that manga Sonny had let him borrow.

As the hamster ball of his thoughts ran steadily through the swiss cheese maze of his memory something clicked. "Oh! I know now. You look just like Rei."

"Well, yeah. I thought that was kind of obvious." snarked the local version.

Catgirl Rei pulled back a little and said, "I am Rrrei. Rrrememberrr me, yet?"

"No. I mean, you look like the Rei from the story I got my name from." replied the man lightly. He was happy. He had figured something out all by himself like a big boy and everything.

"Seriously? Can we wee?" asked local Rei. It was a weird coincidence after all.

Scott smiled lightly and disentangled himself from the reluctant catgirl. "I'll be right back."

He left the trio in the room and returned shortly with a few different graphic novels in-hand. He showed them the cover of the first one and Catgirl Rei's eyes bugged a little.

"Scott! That's you and Minako!" exclaimed the pokegirl in shock.

"Minako?" asked local Rei curiously.

The otherworldly man nodded lightly. "Yeah. She was the first pokegirl Scott found on his travels. She does look a lot like the Ms. Minako we know."

Rei rushed over to where Scott and her catgirl version were standing. She knew that story. In fact, she had all of the graphic novels and three of the OVA's.

"Seriously? This is like one of my favorite manga." remarked the girl with wide eyes.

The girls had all gotten a kick out of how the main characters had their names and fought something called the Dark Organization." it almost felt like they had a comic book about their lives, albeit a hentai one.

"Wait, that armor." said local Rei in a mildly stunned voice. Now that she was in coincidence mode, the armor of the main character did look a bit like what Scott supposedly wore when her grandfather found him.

"Wow. It looks like yourrrs Scott." stated catgirl Rei in mild surprise. When she spotted a novel that had her on the cover wrapped in his arms she flushed.

Grandpa joined in on the conversation by asking for a book. He began flipping through the pages and widened his eyes after he saw a girl being captured with a familiar ball. "This is beyond bizarre. This manga even has girls who are captured in those balls."

"Oh yeah, pokeballs!" exclaimed the local Rei. "They use those to catch pokegirls.." she continued, trailing off at the end. Slowly she turned back to Scott and stared at him hard.

He gazed back lightly for a moment. For a short time the room was silent and then like a thunderclap local Rei exclaimed, "Holy Shit, you're a shounen manga character!"

Catgirl Rei absorbed that statement for a moment and began trying to fight back a giggle, as something absurdly funny occurred to her then. Scott bit his lip a little and replied, "That's odd. Are you saying my life is some form of popular entertainment?"

The catgirl version of Rei Hino could no longer restrain herself and she began to laugh in a loud obnoxious manner. Her face became bright red as tears streamed from her eyes. Soon she was having trouble breathing and fell to the floor in a heaving heap as she attempted to drag in enough air.

"What's wrong Ms. Catgirl?" asked the man as he knelt down with the instinctive need to comfort and protect her.

"S-serrrves, you rright.." she managed to gasp while wheezing out even more laughter.

Local Rei started to giggle too, though she was uncertain why exactly. Laughter was infectious after all.

"I don't understand. Why does the existence of a popular form of entertainment surrounding my life make you laugh so hard?" he asked without a hint of anger or annoyance. He was simply interested in knowing what caused her to react in such a manner.

Catgirl Rei heaved and lifted a hand, waving it in the air in an attempt to say something. Unfortunately, she couldn't. Finally she did manage to get something out but it was a disjointed statement that sounded like, "Oh god, I'm gonna pee my pants."

"Ms. Rei? Are you alright? Do you have some sort of bladder issue?" he asked her after comprehending her strange language. The girl only laughed harder, eventually losing the ability to illicit sound. She simply leaned back against the bed dry heaving as the hilarity overwhelmed her. Her body softly bucked in a laughing motion like a thoroughly amused mime.

"My fiance, certainly likes to laugh." he replied innocently.

Grandpa and local Rei could not help but nod at him. This situation was quite strange, but nothing was stranger than the laughing catgirl on the floor.

...

AN: Whelp there we have chapter 3. Feel free to hate on it, if you like. Read and review please. Your candor is all I have.


	4. What Is Love?

Rei rolled over in bed unable to sleep as the sounds from the room next door continued to keep her from relaxing. A loud scream followed by, "Ms. Rei? Are you injured?" once again permeated the night.

The local Rei frowned to herself as she pulled her pillow over her ear to drown out the sound of what could only be raucous love making. The muffled answer from the catgirl next door was not clear enough for her to hear. However, it was only a brief few minutes later that loud panting, punctuated by the occasional growl and moan managed to translate through the wall into her room.

Rei closed her eyes tight in an effort to drown out the obnoxious sounds of the taming occurring next door, but that did not help. Scott calling out, "Ms. Rei. Why are you biting that?" did not help matter much.

The shrine maiden snuggled down under her covers and tried to use them as a buffer. She knew theoretically that the two individual's next door were supposedly some kind of real life characters created in a manga. She also knew that those characters would need to engage in sexual relations frequently as the pokegirl member of the duo required such interaction to retain her sanity and sense of self.

There was only one problem with that concept however. A loud, thoroughly pleased, moan escaped the neighboring room which perfectly accentuated the issue Rei was currently facing. They were engaged so it did not offend her that much that they were doing that sort of thing. What bothered her was the sheer level of noise they were making.

When her picture frames started to rattle against the wall due to the headboard of their bed slamming into it she had finally had enough. The shrine maiden hopped out of bed, put on her fuzzy slippers, and exited her room with a hateful scowl on her face.

When she opened her door, however, she noted her grandfather leaning down to peep through the keyhole into the room. She stood there frowning at him for a moment before she asked, "Just what do you think you're doing Grandpa?"

The old man turned to her casually and replied, "I'm gardening Rei."

"That's a stupid answer!"

"Well, it wasn't a very smart question. What does it look like I'm doing?" he asked her with a goofy smile.

"You old pervert! That's.. that's..!" she began stuttering out.

"Sorry, I beat you to it?" remarked the horny old shrine priest.

"What? No! I.." she began irately. However, the door opened shortly thereafter to reveal a thoroughly naked and annoyed catgirl.

"I don't mean to be rude. I know this is your home and not mine, but can you please keep it down?" asked the pokegirl with a frown of disapproval. Her hair was plastered to her forehead and her gloriously naked body gleamed with sweat.

"What? How dare you! You've been making enough noise to wake the dead!" exclaimed the local version of Rei while returning a frown of her own. Catgirl Rei stared at her uncomprehendingly as she tried to decipher the rapidfire Japanese language she was speaking in.

Scott wandered over, also naked. "We brought someone back from the dead?"

The others stared at him incredulously for a moment. Catgirl Rei thought about it for a moment and realized what her local counterpart must have said. She patted him on the side of the face before saying,"Master.."

"Yes, Ms. Rei?"

"Thank god you're pretty."

This brought on a snicker from the local Rei that became infectious. Soon they were all laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Scott was laughing simply because he had received a compliment. Ms. Rei thought he was pretty. How nice.

XXX

Chapter 4: What Is Love?

XXX

Ryoko slid her foot back and shifted her stance. Her physical injuries had been rapidly healed by the P-Meds available, but they had not healed the wounds she bore on her heart and pride. In the battle she come face to face with an opponent that had clearly outperformed her in every way. While she had not faced a fellow swordswoman, the effect was the same. She had been thoroughly beaten with ridiculous ease. She could not live with such a disgrace and as such chose the only route she felt was available to her. She trained hard and long.

The amazon wu spent countless hours of the course of the three days since she had been released and healed. When she was not taming with her master, she was training. While she remained close at hand no matter where he went, she had to become stronger. She had failed to protect both him and her fellow warriors.

Her arms moved in a blur as she tried to make herself stronger, faster, more agile with every strike. She had to perfect her techniques. The pokegirl knew that there was a true samurai inside of her and she had to master that inner nature. There was no other choice. She had to be better than she was before. Her master had almost been killed. She had almost been killed. For all she knew all of her friends were dead save for Rei. She had failed and she must not fail again.

People coped in many different ways after a trauma. While Ryoko spent her time trying to perfect her techniques, catgirl Rei spent her time attempting to pretend she was just one of the girls. While the sight of the local equivalent to her friends was painful, she also felt a little better with them around. Minako generally translated the questions of the other girls into English for catgirl Rei. She also translated her responses.

"So, you really have to have sex or you'll go crazy?" asked Makoto with wide eyes. She only thought that was an old joke, but it seemed some people actually have to deal with it for real.

Catgirl Rei nodded casually and responded after Minako informed her of what she said. "Yeah. Pokegirls have to be tamed frequently. I guess with a nice guy it's like being with a boyfriend. I never really had one before so I wouldn't know."

Minako stared at her for a moment then asked, "So.. how is it?" She had chased after every guy who seemed even remotely interesting, but somehow she never managed to land the ones she wanted. They either had girl friends or turned out to actually be girls.

The feline pokegirl flushed a deep scarlet and merrowed lightly. "It's nice. I don't know how to explain it."

Ami considered the ramifications of having a medical condition that required the individual to have sex to remain sane. She promptly excused herself to go wash her face a little. If anyone had noticed they would have seen that she was attempting to control a blush.

Serena turned the page of the pokegirl chronicles she was reading then grabbed another brownie. She considered this research on the history of her new friends. The fact that it was the hentai version of the manga with copious amounts of gratuitous nudity did not help her case much.

Rei asked her feline counterpart, "So, how strong is the dark kingdom where you're from? You said you lost a major fight?"

The feline type considered the words Minako translated then nodded and took a deep breath. "A single youma can easily drain the life out of an entire town. It's happened a few times. People go missing now and then. It usually takes all of us to stop a super youma, as Scott calls them."

"Super youma don't sound.. good." remarked Makoto obviously.

"No, they aren't. Minako and Scott fought what he called a regular youma once. It was pretty strong but they beat it. Super youma take out entire teams of highly trained pokegirls by simply draining them." replied the catgirl thoughtfully.

"Yeah, the leader youma are like that here. We usually have to wade through a dozen or so weaker ones to get to the main one. The weak ones are well, weak. The main one usually takes all of us to beat it." replied Serena casually before flipping the page widening her eyes , and saying, "Hell-o"

"You pervert."

"At the moment you can call me what you want." replied the blond as she got an eyefull of well drown musculature.

Feline Rei pondered for a moment then shook her head. It was strange how those two fought. They really should just tame and get it over with. The fact that those thoughts would have been strange to her only a few months prior did not make itself apparent to her.

Ryoko came in not long after, her simple white gi was plastered to her body from the sweat. She took a look at the gathering of teenage girls and smiled tentatively.

"You can come in if you want. We don't bite you know." remarked Minako with a smile.

The wannabe samurai pokegirl nodded lightly then came inside. She was hoping to find Scott in here. He did not seem to have been anywhere in the house when she searched. When she brought that fact up local Rei responded.

"Yeah, he left for work earlier."

"Oh. I would have gone with him." she remarked sullenly.

"What's wrong?" asked Makoto. The girl had seemed down ever since they opened her ball.

Ryoko shrugged lightly and shook her head. "Nothing really. I just.."

Catgir Rei patted her on the shoulder. "I know. We weren't ready. Even Scott and the senshi were beaten. You saw how fast it all happened."

"Yeah. I keep telling myself I need to be stronger and faster. A true samurai would fight on and protect her master with all of her heart. I just don't know how."

The girls looked at the down cast pokegirl for a moment then looked away. No one was certain what to say. The manga did not get most of the fine details right. The larger items like names and some places or events were the same, but overall their lives had been a bit different than the popular fiction.

"Scott was the same way before he lost his memories. He constantly blamed himself for not being good enough." catgirl Rei told her.

"Yeah.." remarked Ryoko sadly.

Ami looked up from her laptop and blinked. "You know, there are a lot of good fighters you might talk to."

"Really? Do you think any could help me?" asked the amazon wu thoughtfully.

Makoto spoke up, "There are a lot of dojos in Nerima I hear about on the news. Supposedly there are a ton of strong fighters in the area."

Ryoko asked, "Any of them teach swordsmanship?"

Ami brought up a search engine generated list of schools in the area and noted that there were several reasonable level schools in the area. She wasn't certain, but somehow she thought that Ryoko might be a bit beyond most of them, however.

It wasn't until she ran across an online advertisement offering special training for anyone who was woman enough to prove themselves that she thought she had found something. The advertisement was an internet reprint of a local newspaper.

"So, they only want the best to apply and they will teach their special skills only to someone that can pass their challenge?" asked Ryoko thoughtfully. That did sound more promising than a training hall that accepted anyone with enough money. She was already reasonably skilled compared to the average amazon wu. She was far more physically strong and agile than any of the other amazon wu types she had run across in the army Scott had put together. Some of those pokegirls had been well over twice her level too.

All of the girls in the harem were far stronger than they would normally have been. The constant battles between each other and the dark kingdom had forced them to become stronger, though their raw experience had not increased as much as it could have. Fighting mostly each other did little for technique development after a while as they approached similar experience levels and mastered their skills. The constant physical training did increase their biological capacities, however.

What Ryoko needed to grow into a true samurai girl was more skill. Her master could not train her the way he was now. Someone in this world, might be able to teach her movements and abilities she would have not been able to learn otherwise.

"I'll ask master when he returns. I really do not like being separated from him, though. A samurai's place is at her master's side!" expressed the amazon type with a burning determination in her eyes.

"Uh, yeah you do that." remarked catgirl Rei. When the girls turned to look at her she flushed and shook her head. She continued speaking so that she would sound slightly less bitchy. "He might not remember much about himself, or us right now. He did always want to get stronger, though. Maybe he'll go find someone to train with too?"

Ryoko's eyes widened with excitement. "He might!"

The girl hugged her boken to herself tightly and make happy little giggle noises that thoroughly distracted the others. The giggles turned to a nigh-diabolical cackle as she begin to go through all the hardcore training she expected to endure. She was really excited about the possibility of martial arts training it seemed.

As the girls watched the antics of the would-be samurai they could not help but wonder about what kind of upbringing she might have had. Chick was nuts.

XXXX

Scott jumped back to avoid the bar stool that suddenly found itself moving in his direction. His hand shot out in a blur of motion to grab it mid-flight and then quietly sat it down. It was a strange thing watching the individual in front of him scream and throw bar stools around. His speech was slurred indicating he was drunk. However, he moved like he was perfectly sober. The man from another world had seen a few of the 'drunks' as they were called. This guy did not seem to be among their number despite how he talked. Of course he could not recall what a functional drunk was either.

"Gimme shome ash bubby. Daddy wantsh ash!" railed the man.

He picked up another chair causing Scott to jog over and grab it before it could be throw. The man jerked forward to throw, but found himself unable to make the stool budge an inch.

"Whassat? I wantsh shome ash. Shtupid shtoolz shnot moving." remarked the man drunkenly before wobbling around to see what the problem was.

He look at Scott for a moment, his body swaying. Finally he blinked and said, "I wantsh shome ash."

The otherworldly security guard considered that for a moment then asked, "Why?"

The club goers stood up from where they had ducked down to see what was going on. Flying barstools were not fun if they hit you.

The belligerent drunk wobbled a little and stared at Scott stupidly for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "I don't fushking knowsh. Girlfriendsh gone. Shtupid monster tooksh her."

"A monster took your girlfriend?" asked Scott curiously.

"Don't listen to that drunk. He comes in here a couple times a month spouting bullshit about some monster that stole his girlfriend." remarked Sonny from behind the bar. The only reason he let the idiot in was that he usually behaved himself and always paid in cash.

"Itsh true! She's gone. Monstersh took sher. Gone, bye bye." said the man irately as tears came to his eyes.

"Kenta the only girlfriend you ever had was a bottle of booze." remarked Sonny in annoyance. At least Scott had stopped the man from doing too much damage this time.

"Whaddy you know boutsh strue love! She loved me. Me! Ugly old Kenta's girl lovshed him and she's gone. Monshter took my Ranko. Gone.. jes she's gone." exclaimed the man as tears began to pour from his eyes and he sank to the floor.

Scott put the stools down and squatted next to the man. "What did the monster look like?"

"You're seriously buying his story?" remarked Sonny curiously. No one took the drunken idiot seriously. He supposed he could not blame the guy though. He was an amnesiac. He probably did not know any better.

"I am not aware that he was selling stories?" asked the large foreigner with a innocent expression of confusion.

"Ish was big. Big, and lookedsh like a panda. Pandash can't write. Couldn't be pandasher. Monshter had a shign."

"What did the sign say?"

"Shorry, dealsh off." blurbled the man quietly.

Scott was curious and asked, "Where did this happen?"

Kenta sniffledand replied drunkenly, "Rigsht on the shedge of Nerma Nerum.. nerim. Shat plash over sher." before pointing out the door toward another part of the city.

"Uhm.. where's Nerma?" Scott asked Sonny.

"He means Nerima. It's across town, another ward of Tokyo." replied the owner before finishing up the bill for Kenta's damages. He hadn't done much this time, thankfully.

Scott took note of the name as he turned back to the distraught man on the floor next to him. He babbled something that sounded like "True eternal love" once again illiciting a question from the memory challenged security guard. "What's true eternal love?"

Kenta blinked at him. He seemed to regard the foreigner for a moment. After the moment passed he belched loudly then quietly farted twice before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a fifty-yen piece. "Here, go callsh shomeone and asksh. I need a nap."

The drunk man giggled at his joke briefly before he blinked one more time and fell backwards. Scott thought something was wrong, but when he noted the man snoring he figured he might be simply sleeping. Both versions of Ms. Rei tended to snore as he recalled.

Sonny frowned down at the drunken heap on the floor then sighed deeply. Kenta was a big spender in his club and always paid for any damages he caused. "Mind picking him up and bringing him in the lounge to sleep it off for a little while?"

Scott nodded lightly and picked the man up as though he were a child. In his fist he clasped the fifty yen he had been given.

When his shift ended a few hours later he was walking home and noticed a payphone in the window of the nearby bus terminal. He lifted his fifty yen piece and nodded.

The man walked over to the bus station then directed his footsteps to the phone and waited patiently for the elderly man currently using it to finish his call. Once the elder was finished with his communications the foreign born individual glanced at the coin in his hand and then at the phone. He knew that when people used the phone they were supposed to press the buttons.

He was uncertain what to do with the coin. He was also unaware of what number series he was supposed to press to operate the device. He noticed a book chained to the phone shelf and decided to open it in case it had some noteworthy information. He smiled happily as he noted a series of names and number designations. While he might be wrong, it seemed entirely possible that these names and numbers were part of using the phone.

Scott immediately sifted through its contents looking for true love. There were no individual's with the first name true and last name love but he did find several advertisements which espoused helping people find true love. He decided that it would be a good idea to start his search with those.

The man pressed the buttons in the suggested sequence and was instructed to enter two hundred yen for the first minute and fifty yen for each additional minute. This made the man stop and think for a moment before hanging up. The knowledge supposedly only cost fifty yen to learn. He had obviously dialed the wrong number.

He made several more attempts with similar results before he began to despair. It seemed that he would never discover the secret knowledge he desired. With a deep sigh he chose to focus his efforts on one more likely candidate. There was a business known as the Naughty Peach Love Hotel displayed on the page before him. The advertisement instructed him to speak to their hotline representative before making arrangements to find true love. It seemed like a reasonable request.

This time when he dialed the number he found himself bypassing the voice asking for money altogether. He immediately heard a clear and upbeat feminine voice with a vaguely french accent. "Hello! You have reached the Earth Assistance Hotline. A representative will arrive shortly to handle your request!"

Scott blinked then turned his attention to a flash of light from nearby. The security camera directed toward the door was glowing softly. Suddenly several green vines shot out followed, surprisingly, by a shapely woman in a strange black and brown outfit.

"Are you.. Yes you are! Hello, sir. My name is Peorth, goddess first class, type two, unlimited license. I am hear to grant your heart's my most beautiful desire! Isn't that wonderful." explained the young woman giddily.

Scott was about to ask her a question but she continued speaking. "I am ready to serve your desire in any way you wish. The wish is the thing! Anything you want, need, or wish to occur shall be yours."

The man was not thinking clearly and misunderstood the situation. Had he really considered what he was being told correctly he might have asked for his memories to be restored. However, he saw in her the answer to his most recent question. "Can you show me what true eternal love is?"

Peorth gasped at him slowly then a small smile crossed her features before a big silly grin occurred. This was followed by her eyes going wide in surprise. The diamond shaped mark on her forehead began to glow brightly for a brief moment before a brilliant light erupted outward from her very being and shot toward the sky. Luckily the phone booth was outside of the terminal and not actually inside the building!

Random people stopped at stared at the incredible display. Several of them immediately began snapping and uploading images to their random social sites of interest such as Mytube and Spacebook. This was going viral, it had to!

"Your wish has been granted!" expressed Peorth giddily. A long term assignment! She would be able to show this handsome hunk of mortal what it means to be thoroughly loved by a goddess! It would be just like Belldandy and Keiichi, except this one was all hers!

Scott blinked as the light show died down then asked, "Uhm, so does this mean you're going to help me?"

The goddess first class hopped forward with a smirk and nodded slowly. "Oh yes! I have so very much to show you!" she cooed.

"Ok." he replied with a smile. She seemed nice.

The goddess beamed another happy smile at him and moved closer. "I make it my business to make certain my clients are perfectly happy with their wish. My customer service is the best heaven has to offer!"

An older woman who had missed the light show came across them, ignoring the crowd, and laughingly remarked, "Get a room you two."

Scott misinterpreted her statement and replied, "I have a room at the shrine."

"You live in a shrine?" asked Peorth curiously. When he nodded and said yes, she widened her eyes in surprise and exclaimed, "Oh it really is just the same!"

The man from another world just nodded slowly. He wasn't certain what she was talking about but she seemed happy enough.

"So, let's go see this room of yours! I can't wait to teach you everything about your wish!" gushed the goddess as she slipped her arm through his.

Scott smiled at her happily. Ms. Peorth seemed like a very enthusiastic person.

Xxxx

An: I thought about continuing this chapter and including the initial meeting between the happy idiot, his apparent new true eternal love teacher, and the household he is staying with. However, I realized that was practically a chapter by itself. Between that meeting, discussions about training, possible help for his memories, and the chance that an actual fight scene might occur next time around I think the next chapter has a lot going on.

At any rate, please read and review!


	5. Ah! Run For It!

"Gotta get in closer!" exclaimed the fiesty brunette in a harsh whisper. Miyuki Sanda, self-styled investigative reporter was on the case again. The moment she had heard about the arrival of several dozen strange individuals attacking people in downtown Juuban she had driven as quickly as possible to the scene. Every shot she took was one more chance to catch a new lead on the true identities of the masked gang members and the so called 'Sailor Senshi'.

On the streets below five girls in what appeared to be modified high school uniforms were attempting to fight their way through roughly eighty faceless individuals in a bid to reach what appeared to be the gang's leader.

Miyuki didn't believe the 'magic' angle at all. There was too much technology in the world for a smart cookie like her to fall for such tricks. These gangs were obviously well funded and flamboyant, but she doubted there was anything truly metaphysical going on.

She got a good view of the one in the green skirt using some sort of electrical attack to sweep away several of the rival gang members. Her telephoto lens snapped up several dozen shots in rapid fire succession as she ran from one corner of the rooftop to another. Her diligence was really paying off today, as she knew most of these shots had to be money in the bank. There weren't even any news crews here yet!

The battle drew close enough to her that she could make out some of the shouting the girls were doing. The words, "Mercury Ice Bubbles Freeze!" caught her attention as the blue skirted girl unleashed some kind of strange gas into the area. Miyuki shuddered as the temperature dropped suddenly. It was rather unseasonable for this time of year, but she ignored the weather to continue trying to take photos. This task proved quite difficult due to the fog blanketing the area.

The occasional shout would draw her attention and she would snap a shot of a gang member dressed up as a faceless monster as they flew above the cloud. Miyuki saw that sort of thing happen often enough that she began to wonder if these girls were really men in drag. There was no way those girls could be that strong.

The fog suddenly liften after roughly ten minutes of hard fighting that left a half dozen police officers and numerous citizens unconscious on the ground. The senshi fought on despite a somewhat ragged appearance and tried their best to continue stemming the tide of the unrelenting 'youma'.

They were obviously tired but they soldiered on. A flash of fire erupted out of the red skirted girls hidden flame thrower. There was a surprising amount of heat generated by the attack despite a lack of obvious fuel tank.

Suddenly the tide of the battle turned against as the hard pressed local heroes were pushed back by the arrival of the gang's leader into the fray. The leader seemed to be some sort of dog lover as they wore a mask which was reminiscent of a bulldog. The gang leader, obviously female by the looks of them, unleashed a strange sonic attack in the form of a loud bark.

The senshi were sent flying back from the force of this strange technology. Two of them, the one in the orange skirt and the red skirted girl were knocked unconscious when they slammed into a wall and a light pole respectively.

"Hmm, looks like they're getting their asses handed to them. Aha! Panty shot two-fer!" exclaimed Miyuki as she noted both of the girls wearing blue skirts were down with their legs in the air. That was definitely a keeper. Tabloids paid big money for that sort of thing.

She felt a strange ringing in her ears not long after as one of the blue clad soldiers sat up and started to cry hysterically. She wasn't certain what was going on but she could almost convince herself that she was seeing rippling waves of energy radiating from the silly red covers on her blond odango style hair.

The nearby youma dropped to their knees while clutching their heads in pain. They had been stunned by the power of this high-pitched wail. Despite the absurdity of the attack it did freeze her attackers in place long enough for the still conscious girls to begin getting to their feet.

They were down two senshi and the gang still had at least half of their guys ready to fight. Where the other half had gone Miyuki did not know. A few times she could have sworn they turned into dust. She chalked that up to simple excitement on her part. People didn't just turn to dust after all.

The green skirted girl with the pony-tail unleashed another one of what Miyuki thought of as her lightning rod attacks. The antenna on her tiara seems to act as some sort of electrical conduit sending high-yield electrical current into nearby targets.

Another freezing cold mist attack was called out after that, much to Ms. Sanda's annoyance. She still didn't understand why these crazy cosplayers yelled out their attack names. If this was all for real, you would think they would keep it to themselves and use silence as their weapon to surprise their enemies.

A loud barking roar was heard not long into the renewed battle. Miyuki quickly snapped several shots of the green skirted girl flying up through the cloud to slam brutally into a nearby apartment building. She hung inside a small crater for a moment before sliding limply down the face of the building. She broke free of its grip due to the superior call of gravity and fell into the cloud below.

The sight of a spinning disc slicing up and out of the cloud only to arc and return to its original point of origin brought on another round of furious picture snapping. This fight was turning out to be a serious money maker for the investigative photojournalist. Her mobile police scanner in the announced an ETA for the arrival of what she suspected would be the riot squad. This fight would be over soon. It was strange that it had lasted so long as it was. Usually they only took a few minutes tops and the senshi were long gone before the police arrived in force.

Unfortunately, she could not see what was going on down below her now. The fog was too thick. For now, she would have to wait for another opportunity to take the perfect photo.

Xxx

Chapter 5: Ah! Run For It!

Xxx

Sailor moon tried her best not to just sit down and cry again when she realized that she was the only real attacker left to fight the remaining youma. Her friends had done a wonderful job, but there had just been so many of them. There had to be over a hundred minion youma ransacking the area when they arrived.

As the heir to the throne of the current defunct Moon Kingdom stood against a score of youma and their uninjured leader she could not help but keenly feel the loss of Tuxedo mask. He had always shown up at the last minute to give her a hint on how to defeat the enemy. At least he had not shown up at this battle calling himself Endymion. That had broken her heart the first time it happened.

She knew the youma could not find either her or Sailor Mercury at the moment, but the instant she called her attack they would have to run or they would be discovered. The youma were blind in the fog and slowed by its freezing effect. However, they could detect an actively used power's location of origin.

She nodded at Mercury and the blue haired senshi nodded back in response. She was ready.

Sailor Moon charged up her only attack and took aim at the largest concentration of youma. She spun around quickly exclaimed "Moon Tiara Magic!" with far more confidence that she felt.

The spinning disc of celestial energy cut through six youma in a razor-like manner, separating arms, cutting a few necks, and slicing cleanly through the torso of two different youma. The mystical effect of the spinning disc was such that these weak youma were unable to withstand even as grazing hit without being horribly injured. The two that were cut in half immediately turned to dust, but the remainder fell to the ground, mortally wounded. They would be unable to drain energy due to a lack of any in the area. All of the locals were unconscious. The only option left for them was a slow miserable death.

The remaining youma immediately stampeded toward the direction of the only two standing senshi. One of the hapless idiots found itself missing half of its head when the tiara returned upon an arcing path and cut it cleanly like a super fast buzzsaw.

The tiara trailed behind the girls as they ran away. However, its active magic kept drawing the youma to its location once they reoriented on tracking it specifically. This lead to a short term endurance run where the badly outnumbered senshi were being chased by powerful and deadly fiends from the dark kingdom.

"The fog's going to lift soon!" exclaimed Mercury as she raced along beside her friend and leader. "Can't help it! If we stop they'll get us!" wailed out Moon. Ami had a thought and used her visor mid-run. Not long after that she exclaimed "This way!" before taking a detour from their circular track and raced off into the nearby alleyway. Once they neared a chain link fence they easily lept over it.

The tiara sliced neatly through the obstacle but the racing youma slammed into it head long. The brief moment of distraction was all Sailor Moon needed to catch her spinning frisbee of doom.

As the youma began tearing through the obstacles, and each other, the girls fled down the alley way and took a detour back toward the direction of their fallen friends. Time was critical the fog was already beginning to thin.

They rounded the corner just as the last of Mercury's freezing cold fog dissipated. It would not take the youma long to orient on them. To their dismay it was already too late. Upon returning to their fallen friends they discovered that several of the youma had proven to be intelligent enough to stay in the area.

With the fog gone they were racing just ahead of the girls in a straight line toward the fallen senshi. Both Mercury and Sailor Moon began powering up to use their senshi abilities, but they knew they would not be finished in tome.

The world seemed to slow to a halt as the first youma came within three feet of a downed Minako. The terror of the situation was broken a split second later as a barrage of rose petals assailed the lead youma with enough force to send it hurtling back into its comrades.

"Tuxedo..?" began to ask Sailor Moon in shock. However, when the furious barrage of rose petals ended it was not her beloved boyfriend and current negaverse general. It was a well endowed woman of foreign decent, wearing a bathing suit of somekind. Next to her stood Scott, of all people. He wore a look of utter confusion, but seemed to be fairly comfortable with the woman standing next to him.

A somewhat deranged laugh emanated from the bikini clad woman as she gestured imperiously and dozens of rose vines whipped out of the ground and started slashing into the youma with incredible force. The trio were destroyed readily, but there was no time for questioning the new arrivals as the rest of the assault force rounded the corner in that moment. A half dozen youma and their leader raced headlong toward their hated enemies.

Apparently two or three of their number had either been destroyed in the pile up, or they were wandering around somewhere. It did not matter to the racing fiends. They wanted life energy and revenge.

Sailor Moon turned toward the oncoming youma and prepared her only real attack. The silver crystal was a powerful tool but she did not really know how to use it yet. She had a healing and cleansing ability, but that would not be of much use other than to help her friends. This was something she had been unable to do because of the numbers they were facing so far.

A strange hi-speed sound similar to an old fashioned tape recording moving at its fastest setting emanated from behind her. To the surprise of everyone in the area save for the one who spoke, a brilliant sphere of light appeared in the space between the senshi and the oncoming youma. The light quickly erupted outward in a radiant starburst of energy that flooded the area in raw divine force.

The soldier youma were instantly destroyed by the attack and rendered into dust. The lead youma was hurled back with tremendous force but still remained among the loving. Well, as much among the living as any youma of the negaverse could be.

"Well aren't you a persist little pseudo-demon?" inquired the vaguely french sounding woman accompanying Scott.

"Uh.. I'll take it from here, I guess..?" asked Sailor Moon in confusion. Whoever Scott's new friend was she was like really strong and stuff! Like, really!

"If you want. I suppose I should go help your friends over here." remarked the bikini clad woman before wandering off toward the fallen senshi.

Sailor Mercury had not said a word the entire time this sudden change in circumstances had occurred. However, she did occasionally gibber something about her visor malfunctioning. There was no way the power reading she was getting from the new arrival could have been real.

Sailor Moon began focusing her remaining power into her tiara. As she did this she began to turn in a stylized dance routine while upbeat music began to emanate from the core of her being. When her attack sequence ended her tiara raced forward from her fingers in a blazing arc of light which caught the struggling dog youma directly in the face. The fiendish creature did not even have time to bark out a final denial, or the mouth to do it with, as its body turned to dust blowing on the winds of defeat.

The same rapidfire tape recording sound came from behind the girls causing them to turn toward their fallen friends. They blinked as a soft green light radiated through the area for a few moments. Not long after the light died down the fallen senshi awakened and began to struggle to their feet. Horrible internal injuries had been repaired, and wounds had been healed in a dramatic fashion.

There was a moment of awkward silence as the now coherent senshi began to take note of their surroundings.

"Scott? What are you doing here?" asked Sailor Jupiter in confusion.

"Peorth and I were walking to the shrine and noticed what was going on." remarked the man in a soft tone. Something seemed off about his mannerisms, but she did not know him well enough to say this was truly abnormal for the man.

"Peorth?" asked Sailor Moon. "Is that your name?"

"Why, yes. Don't bother thaking me. I am glad to help the people of the Earth whenever I can." replied the bikini clad woman with a sense of satisfaction in her tone.

"Uh.. well thank you anyway! We, well I don't know if we would have survived this one. The Dark Kingdom never attacked with this many youma at once before." replied the leader of the senshi.

Peorth smiled happily at her before walking over to Scott and insistently crossed her arm through his. "Like I said. I am always happy to help out whenever I can. I have the best customer service in the business!"

"Customer.." began Sailor Venus as she noted the brazen way the new girl held onto Scott.

"Service?" completed Sailor Mars in mild shock. Just what kind of profession was this woman in anyway?

"Uh.. so you two do know each other right? How did you meet?" asked Sailor jupiter in mild concern.

Scott blinked and turned to look at Peorth. The goddess smiled beatifically at him and then winked in an adorable fashion.

"I made a phone call and Ms. Peorth came to teach me about true eternal love at the bus station." replied the man honestly.

"Wha..?" asked Sailor Moon incredulously. There was no way she had just heard what she thought she had heard.

"Wait what?" asked Mars. "At the bus station.." remarked Venus in her own brand of confusion.

"Yes. I came to grant my Scott his innermost desire for eternal love and romance!" gushed Peorth happily as she snuggled close to him.

"B-but..How..why?" babbled Sailor Moon.

"You're engaged!" exclaimed Mars.

"You are engaged?" asked Peorth curiously. It did not really impact on her job all that much, but it could complicate matters later.

"Yes. Ms. Rei told me we are engaged recently. She's really nice." replied Scott with a slightly more upbeat tone. However, when he glanced at the piles of dust slowly blowing away on the wind his chipper tone gave way to a quiet frown.

"Why would she have to tell you?" inquired Peorth.

"Scott has amnesia." explained Ami as she finally gave up on analyzing her data for the moment. "He knows very little about his past."

"That is simply terrible! We should fix that soon." exclaimed the goddess with wide sincere eyes. She might be a little well, slutty, but she had a good heart under all those boobs. This lead her to genuinely care about people.

"You can cure amnesia?" asked Ami curiously. That would be a very interesting power to have. She had already shown considerably attack and healing powers.

"That's a tricky sort of thing. Memories are fragile. Brain damage itself is easy enough to fix but the mind can be irreparably harmed if the utmost care is not taken. I'll have to confer with some of my associates before we attempt anything. Second and third opinions are important in this sort of affair." stated Peorth after a moment of thought.

"Who are these associates of yours?" asked Luna as she came out of hiding. Artemis followed her out of the dumpster they had been cower..planning strategy in before Peorth answered.

"Oh! Please forgive me, I haven't properly introduced myself have I?" remarked the bikini clad goddess to the cat. The fact that she did so without even batting an eyelash spoke volumes for how weird her life must be. Most people freaked out about talking cats. Normally this would have kept Luna silent but she wanted answers.

Peorth held her hand out toward the girls and they stood awkwardly for a moment before Venus moved forward to take the business card the strange woman was offering.

The blond bombshell blinked as she read it then widened her eyes in surprise. "No way. Is this some sort of joke?"

"What does it say?" asked Mars curiously. The other girls asked similar questions as well.

Venus read it aloud for their benefit. "Peorth: Goddess first class, type two, unlimited license. Associate operator for the Earth Assistance Hotline. Number one in award winning customer service."

"Huh?" asked Jupiter sagely.

"You're a.. goddess?" asked Mars skeptically.

"Yes. I am Peorth. I am a first class goddess sent down to Earth by the Yggdrasil system to grant a wish to a fortunate customer. Normally this is an efficient and expedient process. However, the wish that was made by my new paramour was a special one!" enthused the goddess as she hugged her divine breasts tightly to her new 'main squeeze'. So to speak.

"Yeah right. You're a goddess.." muttered Mars to herself in response.

The discussion was broken up not long after as distant sirens announced the arrival of police in the area.

"Well, that's our cue to leave. We'll have to talk about this later." remarked Venus as she raced over to snatch up Artemis.

Moon grabbed Luna in similar fashion. "Yeah, I so do not wanna talk to the cops today."

"These 'cops' they are trouble?" asked Peorth. She knew a lot about human life but sometimes certain concepts escaped her.

"They generally stop trouble actually. The problem is they like to arrest people and ask questions. We would prefer not to have to explain what we do to people that would have no idea what we are talking about." explained Mercury as she jumped onto the nearest dumpster. She then leaped up onto a brick wall and used that as a jumping point for reaching a nearby rooftop.

Peorth wanted to ask more questions, but seeing the way the other girls followed suit, she thought it best to simply leave. Scott seemed oblivious to any danger these 'cops' might pose but he was fine with leaving as well.

He lept up onto the brick wall and followed after the girls easily as the new goddess in his life drifted lazily up into the air to follow after him. This promised to be an interesting wish assignment to say the least!

Xxxx

Rei stared at the new girl hatefully as she cooed at her fiance and offered him another spoonful of ice cream. The uncomprehending idiot opened wide for her as she popped it into his mouth with a giggle.

Ryoko was a bit uncomfortable about yet another rival for her master's time but so far the new girl seemed nice. What she didn't appreciate was the fact that she seemed bent on keeping him all to herself. She wasn't her alpha after all. The only thing that calmed her nerves about the unexpected arrival of this new girl in her master's life is reports of her strength in battle. He needed all the protection he could get and she did seem friendly.

The local senshi were just trying to wrap their heads around the weirdness of the afternoon. Seeing Scott's new friend fighting off youma like that was nice. However, they did not believe her claims about being a goddess for a second. What kind of goddess wore a bikini and spoon fed amnesiac guys ice cream?

Luna continued to bellyache about dark kingdom conspiracies, while Artemis tried to understand just why he kept wanting to sit in the otherworldly Rei's lap. Something about her made him want to be a very good kitty indeed.

"You're saying that the Yggdrasil code speech power you used a few minutes ago lets us all talk and understand each other?" asked Ami curiously. That was a very handy power to have. Her own English language skills were adequate but stilted. She used very formal language when speaking in that foreign tongue.

"Yes. I noticed that your blond friend there seemed to have to translate everything back and forth for some of you."

"Uhm. My name's Minako.." remarked the aforementioned blond.

Peorth nodded pleasantly at her but did not deign to bother mentioning that she already knew this face from earlier.

"How long will it last?" asked the blue haired girl curiously.

"It works in proximity to me primarily. The effect will last a few hours at most outside of my zone of influence, but it renews completely whenever one of you moves close enough to me."

"That's a really cool power to have. If people could do that there wouldn't be as many problems in the world." said Makoto with wide eyes. That really did sound like a cool ability to have.

"I recall hearing that humans used to be able to talk to and understand everything on Earth, but they did something and the ability was removed." remarked Peorth off-hand.

"Really?" asked Serena intelligently.

Peorth shrugged. "No Idea. It happened before my time. I'm still quite young and beautiful by the standards of goddess."

Scott smiled at her happily as she spooned him another bit of ice cream. It was nice to spend time with people.

When she was asked how old she was she waved her hand dismissively and replied, "Now now, we don't ask a lady her age.."

A few random comments and minutes of chatter followed that statement. After a time catgirl Rei could not keep silent any longer. The sight of this tramp spoon feeding her fiance-master was really annoying her.

"So, when do you plan on going home?" the catgirl finally asked while running her fingers through Artemis' fur. The white moon cat merrowled happily as he snuggled close. This was the best thing ever.

"I am home, silly. Well, as long as we're welcome. I cannot part from my Scottie-kins here until he understands the depths of true eternal love." replied the goddess with a naughty smirk. She punctuated this fact by hugging her ample chest to his arm.

Local Rei sighed. This was just great, another freeloader. Scott at least had a job. This new girl dressed like she 'worked at night', but did not seem to have any money on her. Apparently, goddesses did not receive a pay check.

Makoto asked, "No, really? Where do you work?"

Peorth rolled her eyes and hugged herself tighter to Scott in a manner that set catgirl Rei's teeth on edge. "I work for the Earth Assistance Hotline. We've been over this."

Minako could not resist asking, "Well if there are gods, how come bad things happen to good people?"

"How come good things happen to good people?" retorted Peorth questioningly.

"Huh?" asked Serena curiously. She wasn't sure what to say or do here, with all this tension. She just knew she had to ask something though.

"Earthlings, humans, mortals, whatever you people call yourselves currently; it's all the same. You want to blame the gods for all your misery when much of it is self-inflicted." remarked Peorth.

"You saying everything bad that happens is our fault?" asked Makoto with a frown.

"No, some of it is caused by demons. A lot of it is generated by fate. However, most of it really is your own doing. If you touch a roaring fire, who's fault is it that you burned yourself?" replied Peorth with a quirk of her eyebrow before turning back to Scott and tickling him.

He giggled around his spoonful of ice cream, much to the annoyance of the girls. The nerve of this brazen hussy. She just shows up and acts like she owns him.

The discussion became a bit more deep and philosophical after that. Ami, could not help but wonder at the geo-social significance of a goddess living in Japan. She found herself disbelieving she was such a being, of course. Still, this would be a major anthropological religious breakthrough if it were true.

Peorth eventually became annoyed with all of the pestering and shined a bright smile toward her 'customer'. "Can we go for a walk?"

Scott smiled. A walk sounded nice. "Sure! Who else wants to go?"

A few minutes later, Scott and Peorth were walking along the streets of Juuban. The goddess was sighing in annoyance, however. Following along behind them came the entire group. The questions kept coming in rapidfire manner while the duo strolled through the streets. A quiet romantic stroll through the city seemed to be impossible for now.

One question did penetrate her would-be romantic haze, however. "So, I hear you have a plan for helping Scott remember his past?" asked catgirl Rei as she asserted herself by taking Scott's free arm.

Peorth glanced at the anthropomorphic near-human girl and quirked one lovely eyebrow. This one would be trouble, she just knew it. "Why, yes. Now that you remind me."

The goddess turned to Scott. "We need to take you to see a few associates of mine. I am quite skilled.. in many fine arts.. but this sort of undertaking requires very delicate work and second opinions may be vital to its success."

A low growl escaped the catgirl's throat at the mention of Peorth's 'fine arts' but then it slowly died down as she clung tighter to Scott's arm. She was honestly torn about the situation. She would not lose her fiance and master to this, this, bikini-clad trollop! However, if she could really help him regain his memories then that would be great. She and Ryoko had tried for the last few days to get him to remember anything about his past. He simply nodded as he accepted the information but did not act like he recognized any of it. The entire affair had been quite draining for all of them.

"You keep saying that, but who are they? Are they friends of yours or what?" asked Makoto curiously. Scott seemed like a nice guy and while she had no interest in him personally, well not enough to fight two other super powered teenage girls for his affections, she didn't want him getting hurt.

"Well, yes. They are friends. I stay with them when I'm in town." admitted Peorth after tapping her chin. She had been somewhat of a nuisance for a short time when she first came down to Earth recently, but it was really job related at the time. The fact that she felt like she was getting back at one of her friends for her imagined indignities toward her were not withstanding.

Ryoko spoke up then, "Are they megami like you?" She had seen a few goddess type pokegirls in her travels. They had to be based off of something. She might not know who or what this new girl was but if she claimed to be a deity who was she to judge? It only made her master that much safer.

"Yes actually. I need their help to make certain my Scottie-kins gets a proper physical." replied the deity with a smile.

"You almost sound like you believe her craziness." remark local Rei.

The amazon wu nodded to her. "She seems to have my master's best interests at heart. If she says she's a deity I have no reason to doubt her or the trust my master has placed in her."

"Wow, naive much?" muttered the shrine maiden to herself.

"I trust my master. I only live now because he took me in despite trying to kill him. Even in his current state I will not doubt his judgment." retorted Ryoko sincerely.

"Wait, what? You tried to kill him?" asked Serena in shock.

The amazon wu nodded at her slowly. "Yes. During our first encounter I was controlled by the new pokegirl my former master had acquired. She was one of the super youma we mentioned. The Serena I know was controlled too at the time. She broke free though."

"What happened?" asked Minako curiously. This was not something she remembered reading in the manga version of their lives.

"We fought. Despite my clear skill and physical power advantage he was doing really well against me. He's a lot stronger now, but at the time he only as strong as a well trained human. He fought back skillfully and beat me by taking out my knees. If I had used one of my special attacks he would probably have lost, but in the state I was in I only knew rage and the desire to kill." remarked the pokegirl sadly. It still bothered her that she had tried to kill her beloved master.

"Wow. So what then? You said he took you in?" asked Makoto. He seemed like a pretty forgiving guy.

"I was beaten and placed into my ball. When I was released I was informed of my fate. I was scheduled for euthanasia for trying to kill a human." she explained as they walked along.

"Euthanasia?" asked Ami with a shudder running down her spine.

"Yes. Scott chose to take me in rather than allow them to execute me." informed Ryoko softly with a gentle smile coming to her lips.

"What! You said you were being controlled. How could they blame you for that?" asked Serena incredulously.

"It doesn't really matter why a human is attacked. A pokegirl has to be level fived or euthanised if she seriously harms one. The only reason I wasn't was because of being controlled and Scott's acceptance of me." supplied Ryoko as a way of explanation. "He was the injured party. If he had not taken me in I would have died."

"That's terrible. How can they treat people like that." balked Makoto loudly.

"We're not people. We're pokegirls." remarked catgirl Rei softly a her tail lashed.

"You act as though you aren't human yourself?" inquired Peorth.

Ryoko blinked at her then replied, "We're not. We are pokegirls."

The goddess stared at her a moment then shook her head. Her aura certainly seemed human. Well more human that Scott's at any rate. The clingy girl with cat ears might be able to argue against her humanity, but what was this girl's deal?

"What's a pokegirl?"

Catgirl Rei responded. "We're like bio-weapons or something. A few hundred years ago our ancestors were created by a madman to get revenge."

"How odd." remarked the bikini-clad deity. She had certainly heard stranger stories, but this one did not ring any bells.

"So, are we going to go see these friends of yours?" asked Makoto suddenly.

"Well, there are a lot of us to just drop in on them unexpectedly. Still, it could be fun and Scott needs to get checked out." replied Peorth.

The girls discussed the man like he wasn't there for a time as their course slowly wandered toward a Buddhist temple that housed a few of the more colorful individuals in town. It had been a few weeks since Peorth had seen either of the other goddess and that adorable little Keiichi. As they talked and meandered she briefly wondered if they'd be happy to see her. Either way the look on Urd's face would be priceless when she told her about how she had herself a long term customer. He was even kind of cute in the strange way mortals had. It was rather like how people thought pugs were adorable.

Xxxx

AN: So, here we go with chapter 5. Things are slowly starting to move forward in this story arc of the side story chronicles. A few questions some of you have asked will start being answered in the next few chapters. Then things will get wrapped up. Please read and review!


	6. Call Me

The dark armored warrior gazed down at the black rose in his gauntlet clad fist. Something about the flower drew him, but he could not be certain what. It was becoming more and more difficult to remember his recent past. Hew knew that at one time he'd had a strong emotional attachment to the blond leader of his enemies, but he could no longer remember why exactly.

Endymion stared at the flower in his hand and considered his life for a time. The rose always made him think of that blond ditz, but it no longer filled his mind with happy memories. Whatever meaning the girl had for him seemed to be falling farther and farther away with each passing day.

One of the first things he had forgotten was her real name. He knew her as Sailor Moon, but her true name was a blank space within his mind. No amount of corrective action by his mistress Beryl had been able to force that memory to the surface.

The former prince of the Earth Kingdom watched as a single black rose petal fell to the hard stone floor and released a slow, soft, sigh. His reverie was broken a moment later as his lieutenant Zircon teleported into his chamber.

"Master Endymion. The queen wants you." reported the green haired youma deferentially. She was one of his three lieutenants assigned to him when he had begun his actions against the senshi. He felt that he worked best alone, but he was not in a position to naysay his mistress.

"Understood." replied the man without any further acknowledgement of his underling. A black vortex of swirling rose petals erupted around him as he teleported to the meeting hall. He could not afford to keep his queen waiting.

Xxxx

Chapter 6: Call Me

Xxxx

The girls stared at the robot in front of them. There was not really anything else the walking washing machine could be but a robot. The fact that it carried a stick and wore a peaked hat did not sit right however.

Ami was trying to discover what company had made the amazing artificially intelligent device by looking it over between stick pokes. The target identification and acquisition subroutines were amazing. She was sorely tempted to change into her Silver Millennium identity just to scan it!

"Banpei, you know me!" exclaimed Peorth in annoyance. She did not want to hurt Skuld's little toy soldier but the thing constantly claimed everyone but Belldandy and Skuld as an enemy. It was amusing when he went after Keiichi and on rare occasion Urd. It was not so amusing when it poked a stick at her, however.

Scott blinked at it but didn't say anything. He did wonder why the little metal man was so standoffish though.

"Uhm. Is that thing remote controlled?" asked Makoto curiously. She knew robots and toys were getting more sophisticated but this thing actually seemed to know what it was doing.

"Of course not! Banpei is a fully autonomous robot!" exclaimed a new voice from the other side of the wall.

"Skuld! Call your tinker toy off so we can come in!" exclaimed Peorth in annoyance.

"He is not a toy! I don't make toys! He is a sophisticated temple guardian and anti-demon device!" snapped the irate girl before she walked into view.

"You made this robot?" aked Ami in surprise. She highly doubted anyone could make a robot as intelligent as this one by themselves. It even had fully articulated bi-pedal motion!

"Yes!" exclaimed the girl excitedly. "Would you like the details on how I, the beautiful genius inventor Skuld, crafted him? It was very difficult with the kind of equipment you people have here. Honestly, not a single tenth-dimensional tool kit in the whole place."

Scott stared at the girl for a moment as he tested her name over and over in his mind. He did not know her but there was a minor familiarity about the name that made him think he should. He did not have that feeling often. So far it had only happened with Grandpa and the various girls in his life.

"Hey why are you staring at me like that?" asked the teenage girl as she took an involuntary step back from the man gazing at her earnestly.

"I don't know you do I?" he asked her curiously.

"N-no. Uhm, I don't think so." replied the raven haired girl in an uncomfortable tone.

"Why would you think you know her?" asked catgirl Rei curiously.

The man turned his his fiance and shook his head. "I thought she seemed familiar. I must have been mistaken."

"She seems familiar, but I don't?" asked the girl sadly. Her ears drooped down a little as she turned her head away.

Scott blinked at her and replied bluntly, "No, you do seem familiar Ms. Rei. It is the same as the other girls and Ms. Peorth. I just don't know why that is, except for what you've told me."

"Oh. So, oh.." said the catgirl confusingly as she tried to process his answer. She was familiar but he didn't understand why outside of what he had been told. That hurt a little, but it was to be expected. It was also the entire point of why they were here facing down a walking washing machine wearing a conical hat.

"Has anyone else seemed familiar?" asked Minako curiously.

Scott thought about that for a brief moment then nodded. "Well there were a few others. Not many though."

"What's going on anyway Peorth?" asked Skuld as she eyed the somewhat large gathering of girls, cats, and the token male.

"If you'll move this rustbucket out of the way so we can come in, I'll tell you. I need to see your sisters." replied the goddess haughtily.

"Banpei is not a rustbucket! He is a super-sophisticated temple guardian!" shouted the girl heatedly.

Scott smiled down at the robot and said, "Hello Mr. Banpei."

The others stared at him as they tried to process what had just happened. When Scott had spoken the sound that came from his was not the Japanese they understood it as. He had made a series of whirring clicks, beeps, and buzzing static that the robot immediately responded too.

"Oh it is nice to meet you too." replied Scott to the short guardian, once again in the strange language.

"How come you sound like the internet?" asked Makoto with upraised eyebrows.

"The internet?" asked Serena.

"Well, yeah.. . He sounds like my dial-up modem." replied the girl. She desperately needed to update her service, but she rarely used her computer for anything more than posting recipes online and chatting with cute boys. Neither really required a higher speed of access or monthly payment.

"People still use dial-up?" snarked Minako. She had been after the restauranteur to update her service for over a year now. It was so 1990s to be using a dial-up service. It wasn't like she lived out in the woods. The entire city was cable ready!

"Whoa. You speak tenth-dimensional trinary?" asked Skuld in the same language. She spoke with a perky yet surprised look etched on her face. Never before had she met someone else that did, outside of the tech junkies back in heaven.

"What's tenth-dimensional trinary?" asked Scott curiously in the same language.

The girls understood the conversation due to Peorth's magic. However, the noise of two modem-like sounds being sent back and forth caused Ami and Serena to cover their ears. It was worse than fingernails on chalkboard.

"Hey you don't have to make fun of me! I was really interested you jerk!" exclaimed the girl with a hurt expression.

Scott was taken aback, but local Rei stepped in. "He probably doesn't know. He has amnesia."

"Amnesia?" asked Skuld slowly.

"Yes, Skuld. That's why we're here. I need to speak to Belldandy and Urd about trying to restore his memories." replied the bikini-clad goddess.

"Oh! Why didn't you say so!" the younger divinity exclaimed suddenly. She was a very expressive individual it seemed. Everything she had said so far was shouted or exclaimed. Perky and loud would sum up her character quite a bit in the eyes of those she had just met.

Peorth bit off her retort when the girl ordered Banpei to let the group through. At least she was good for something finally. Even if the robot was her fault in the first place.

The group entered the temple grounds and were immediately greeted to the sight of a reasonably large Buddhist structure. Strangely, there were no visitors to the temple milling about.

"Big sis, and Keiichi are at School right now. Urd's here though."

"Urd?" asked Scott curiously. He recalled the name his friend Hild used when dancing at the club.

"What you know her?" asked Peorth with a curious expression.

"I met someone that used that name, but it wasn't her real name." replied Scott helpfully.

"Oh. Hmm, ok." responded the goddess.

The moon cats continued keeping their own council as they walked along with this strange group. Local Rei took in the sight of the temple and noted how well maintained it was despite the lack of visitors.

As they neared the entry way a loud explosion erupted from inside that put most of the group on edge. The only two unaffected were Peorth and Skuld. Even Banpei seemed to jump into combat mode.

Thick clouds of pink smoke roiled out of the open doorway followed not long after by the emergence of a platinum haired woman in an outfit that seemed fit for a sultan's harem. The tanned and toned woman immediately reminded Scott of his friend Hild, but he was unable to say it aloud due to Peorth speaking first.

"What hapless sap did you blow up this time Urd?"

The goddess hacked and wheezed for a moment as she tried to catch her breath. Whatever was in the smoke she had walked through seemed to share components similar to tear gas. She was all snotted up and unable to speak for a short time.

"Oh be quiet, Peorth." the goddess of the past finally managed to wheeze out after a few minutes of awkward coughing.

"Probably some stupid love potion." muttered Skuld aloud.

"Love potion?" asked Minako with perky smile. That sounded like it could be promising.

Urd collected herself then blinked as she finally noticed the crowd in the front yard and asked with a snappish tone, ignoring the love potion crack. "Now what do we owe this pleasant gathering to?"

Her eyes roved over the girls then stopped when she found Scott. They widened slowly as she took in the sight of his aura, among other things.

"Scott has amnesia and I wanted to speak with you and Belldandy about helping him." said the bikini clad goddess before pressing her ample assets tight against his arm. Catgirl Rei frowned at her and released a low growl in response.

"Scott?" asked Urd thoughtfully as she took in the sight of the man standing in front of her. She had to admit that he was pretty well put together for a mortal, if he was a mortal. His aura was very strange.

"Yep, my cuddle muffin here needs to get fixed up." remarked the goddess as she pressed her face against Scott's and nuzzled his cheek.

Urd squinted at her then noticed the hateful looks some of the other girls were giving her. 'This could be interesting.' thought the goddess to herself with a mental smirk.

"Cuddle muffin?" asked Skuld with a sour expression on her face.

"Oh, yes! He made such a darling wish and I was more than delighted to satisfy his every desire! It is a goddess' duty to fulfill the wish of her client with utmost care and concern after all."

"Oh? He made a wish?" asked Urd casually. The guy smiled at her and nodded.

"Yes. No one would tell me what true eternal love was so I used the phone to ask about it." replied the man sincerely. "Ms. Peorth was the only one who was willing to instruct me when I called."

Catgirl Rei frowned at him as her ears flicked in agitation. He was lucky he was amnesiac.

Skuld stared at him with wide eyes. Urd blinked and arched her eyebrows. Not long after both began to snicker. Then as one, the floodgates of their laughter opened wide causing them to fall to the ground in hysterics.

"Just what is so funny?" asked Peorth with a hard edge to her voice.

The laughter was a bit infectious and the other girls started giggling a little without really knowing why. Scott blinked when he noticed this then tittered politely since he did not know what was going on.

"Oh, c'mon." wheezed Urd. "You .. granting that kind of wish. Seriously?"

"Yeah, poor guy. At least Keiichi managed to get away from you." snickered Skuld.

"Uhm. Why are you laughing at Ms. Peorth? She is a very nice person." asked Scott in confusion.

Peorth glanced at him and a slow smile spread across her features. It was nice to be appreciated.

"Oh is she now?" snickered Urd in a similar fashion to Skuld. "With a wish like that, I'm surprised you aren't tied down and crying."

"Hey! I only did that to Keiichi once!" exclaimed Peorth in annoyance.

"You tied someone down? Uhm.. why? Were they doing bad things?" asked the man innocently.

"Uh.." began Peorth. How exactly did you explain bondage and attempted vine rape fetish fantasies to an amnesiac? She had really tried everything she could think of to satisfy Keiichi, whether he wanted to be satisfied or not.

"She wanted to.. p-punish him for being naughty." replied Urd through her laughter. Her comment made Skuld's face turn bright red and managed to silence the younger deity's laughter a bit.

"Oh. Well, if he was being naughty I guess he deserved punishment." remarked Scott cluelessly. The girls for the most part turned a bright shade of crimson and could not manage to look at the man for a moment as they tried to hide their own laughter.

Urd shook her head as tears flew from her eyes amidst intensified laughter. This was too much. It really was. She decided then and there that she liked this guy. She hadn't laughed like this in ages.

"Uhm.. yeah, whatever. When is Belldandy coming home? I don't want to try and cure his amnesia on my own." asked a thoroughly flushed Peorth.

Skuld decided to answer her. "Big sis should be back in an hour or two. She and Keiichi only had morning classes today. They would have been home but she wanted to get groceries for dinner."

"Oh. Hmm. That's not too long of a wait then." remarked the bikini clad goddess as her flushed face slowly returned to its normal pallor.

"Mhmm." purred Urd.

The goddess glanced over at the girls and asked, "So, who are your new friends?"

They had a little time to kill so introductions seemed like they were in order. The girls and cats were introduced to each other one at a time before some polite conversation and girl chatting began. The story of Scott, catgirl Rei, and Ryoko (who had been quiet for the most part until now) was explained and the goddesses took it fairly well.

In point of fact, they took it a little too well. They both seemed to find nothing particularly unbelievable about people being translocated from one world to another. The fact that the three individuals standing before them had popular entertainment features based on their lives was a little more difficult to believe. Still, they had heard stranger stories.

Time passed and soon the dull roar of a motorcycle could be heard from the roadway. The group turned to the newest arrivals as a young man and woman came up a side ramp that lead to a nearby building.

"Big sis!" exclaimed Skuld as she raced toward the brunette and her short companion.

"Skuld. Hello." said the girl with a warm tone of voice and a soft smile.

The girl began to babble at an accelerated pace in an attempt to explain everything that had happened since her older sister had left for classes that day. This lead Keiichi and Belldandy to look up and take notice of the large gathering in the temple courtyard.

Keiichi sighed. He just knew this meant trouble somehow. Large groups of people showing up out of the blue always did. At least this time he did not recognize anyone but Peorth. Though, that did not exactly fill him with confidence.

Xxxx

Deep in the darkest pits of despair strange things were happening. Typically the screams of the repentant and the damned would normally penetrate this sanctuary of evil. They would be the background music of sorrow and terror that emanated from every stone and passage.

Strange for this bizarre court of the damned would be ordinary for most places. However, in this instance strange was defined as the queen of the underworld singing a random love song while looking over the outfits in her closet.

Mara stared at the scene with open confusion and a hint of fear as the bizarre scene continued. Ever since Hild had started making nice with Scott the daimakaicho had become a little disturbed. She could not tell if her mistress was planning something incredibly evil or if she was simply amusing herself. Either way, it was creepy and weird.

Hild turned to the blond demoness and held up a slinky red gown close to her perfectly naked body. "What do you think? Is this the one?"

"It will look incredible on you lady Hild." proclaimed Mara emphatically.

"Will it work though?" asked the queen of Niflheim. "He has completely disregarded every other outfit I have tried."

"No mortal could possibly resist you wearing that." stated Mara confidently.

Hild considered that for a moment then replied, "I have sent him dreams of me, placed myself before him on several occasions, and even managed to be naked on a few more of them while in his presence."

"Uhm, maybe he is not interested in women.." remarked the demoness first class. She had witnessed Hild's attempts to elicit a response from Scott over the last few days. The few times they had 'accidentally' crossed paths outside of work, and the dream sendings had failed to do more than make the man smile and give them hugs.

"If it were that simple it would not intrigue me." stated Hild lightly before taking on a curious tone while asking, "Are you saying that any man could resist me? Personal preference would be enough to disregard what I have to offer?"

"No no! Of course not lady Hild!" babbled Mara quickly. She was on thin ice at the moment and she knew it. Hild's temper was legendary when it was riled up.

The evil queen of hell turned toward her mirror and willed the dress in her hands to form around her body. She turned and twisted a few times before nodding. The irridescent gown shimmered in the infernal light taking on an almost hypnotic glow.

"Hmm. I've tried brazen, perhaps you are right Ma-chan. Elegant and sensual might be the key." agreed Hild finally. The blond demoness nodded repeatedly while babbling her agreement. The queen of hell tuned her subordinate out as she accessorized her gown. She had to look her utter best at all times after all.

Xxxx

"This is really good!" exclaimed Serena as she downed another helping of Belldandy's miso soup. So far the bottomless pit that was Serena Tsukino had devoured seven bowls and numerous amounts of shrimp. Skuld was almost afraid to mention the ice cream she so desperately wanted since she knew this human eating machine would take it all.

"Oh. Thank you. I am so glad that you like it." replied Belldandy with a happy smile. She did not mind someone with a healthy appetite. Though this many people did stretch their food budget. Keiichi did not want her to constantly use her powers to create food and other amenities since he felt like he could not provide for her like that. She respected his wishes, even if it meant slim pickings on the food sometimes.

"Meatball head likes anything that can fit in her mouth." replied local Rei with a smirk.

Minako snickered loudly for a second while fighting the urge to laugh outright. Most of the other girls at least had the good sense to blush, however.

Scott took in the sight of all the happy people in the room and smiled softly. This seemed so nice.

Keiichi kept eyeing the man warily. As the night wore on and Scott made no move to kidnap or harass anyone, the younger man finally began to relax around him.

Ami nibbled on her sandwich and considered the way her friends were acting. It was strange. Usually everyone was so guarded with people they did not know. Life as part-time super heroes tended to cause trust issues. Except for Serena none of them really had that many outside friends. She knew that Makoto had a best friend named Ken. She had one time had a chance at a boyfriend but that fell apart when he moved. The closest to a new friend any of them had in months was Scott and no one was sure how that would turn out.

Artemis meowed happily as he bit into a piece of fish. He didn't believe Belldandy was a goddess in the slightest. However, he definitely thought her cooking was divine.

"So, you can't remember anything at all?" asked Skuld finally, as a means to distract herself from thinking about ice cream.

Scott shook his head. "The only memories I have are of after Grandpa found me."

"Grandpa is Rei's grandfather right?" asked the youngest goddess in the room.

"Yes. He took me in and gave me a place to stay." replied the man with a soft smile.

"That was very nice of him." said Belldandy with an equally soft smile.

The two of them smiled at each other innocently in agreement for a short time. Urd blinked as she noted how similar the two smiles were. By this time the goddess of the past was a little tipsy from the wine she always kept on hand. She couldn't resist mentioning her little discovery.

"Heh. Peorth's new boyfriend acts like a male Belldandy."

She punctuated this statement with a hiccup and a slutty giggle.

"Oh? How so?" asked Scott and Belldandy at the same time. Both of them were wide eyed with curisoity as they questioned the eldest of the three goddess sisters.

"Fuh-reaky." remarked Serena after a silent moment passed.

"Scott's just super nice." claimed native Rei. She flushed lightly and turned away as every set of eyes in the room turned toward her.

"I think you're very nice too Ms. Rei." replied Scott with a warm smile.

The other senshi giggled as their raven haired friend blushed a darker shade of scarlet and shook her head silently.

"Hey. What about me?" inquired Peorth as she snuggled close to Scott.

The man turned his warm smile on her and nodded. "You are nice too Ms. Peorth."

Urd snickered at that. Peorth deflated a little at his comment. She had hoped for a little more than nice.

Catgirl Rei decided to try her luck and leaned on her fiance and master. "Am I nice too Scott?"

He nodded at her while continuing to smile. "Yes. Most of the time."

Peorth laughed and said, "Ha. He likes me more."

The catgirl looked at him with a hurt expression and shook her head. "Most of the time?"

He nodded again and replied, "Yes. It stings a little when you bite me."

"She bites you?" asked Belldandy with an innocent and confused look.

Peorth squinted at the catgirl, but Minako beat her to asking the question on almost everyone's mind. "When does she bite you?"

Catgirl Rei turned bright red when her fiance answered. "When we hug each other at night."

Ryoko flushed a little too, but not out of embarrassment. Night time hugging sounded like a good thing right about now.

"Oh! How nice." exclaimed Belldandy. She did not realize what night time hugging might mean outside of the obvious. It sounded like a very sweet thing to do.

"I wish you would hug less." muttered native Rei.

Urd understood her though, and asked, "Oh? Why is that?"

Native Rei shook her head back and forth.

Minako smirked at her though. "Walls a little thin in the shrine, huh?"

Urd burst out laughing as the teenage girl turned and glared at her friend with a hate filled expression.

"I don't get it?" asked Skuld in a dangerous tone that made it sound as though she did get it. In fact it might be something perverted.

"How come we don't hug at night?" asked Peorth with a soft pout.

"We met during the day." replied Scott with a confused blink.

"His memory really must be messed up bad if he doesn't understand what all of that was about." suggested Urd.

"Before the fight with Jedite, he had perfect memory." replied Ryoko softly. She wasn't certain why she spoke, but in some small way she wanted to defend her beloved master.

"Really?" asked Urd curiously.

"Yes. He did."

"Maybe that's how he learned to speak so many languages?" asked native Rei in a desire to continue this change of subject.

"Oh, you can speak many languages Mr. Scott?" asked Belldandy warmly.

"I'm told I can. I don't know what languages are though. All I do is speak to people."

"And crows." muttered native Rei.

"He speaks to crows?" asked Keiichi curiously. He wondered if the man just liked talking to birds or if the birds talked back.

"He can speak to Banpei in tenth dimensional trinary. That was pretty cool."

"Wait, what?" asked Urd with a casual glance at Skuld. "Think about what you're saying there Skuld."

"Huh?" asked the younger goddess intelligently.

Peorth blinked. "Hey, that's right.. how could he speak a tenth dimensional language? How could he even know one?"

"Uhm.." began Scott as he looked around the room in confusion.

"What's a tenth dimensional language?" asked Ami curiously. It sounded like something very rare or obscure. How anyone could call making a sound like the internet a form of speech was beyond her understanding.

"It's a language that only someone of a higher realm could possibly know. It's like the Yggdrasil and Niddhogg code languages. Only high ranking spirits or gods and demons would be able to learn it." explained Skuld as her eyes widened in realization.

"Oh? So Scott is a god?" asked catgirl Rei in confusion.

"Guess the Tiger was right about you master." replied Ryoko with a smile.

"Wait? Someone claimed you were a god?" asked Peorth in surprise as she looked at Scott in a new light.

"Well, his aura is definitely not human. I don't know about whether or not he is a god though. He doesn't have any markings." said Urd.

"Yes. That is quite strange." remarked Belldandy as she took a good look at Scott.

"Who's this Tiger you referred to?" asked Ami.

"Oh. The Tiger is like this really big demon tiger that Scott summoned. It only listens to him. It kept claiming Scott was a god because of how strong he was." explained Ryoko.

"Demon tiger? Why would a demon serve a god?" asked Urd curiously.

"I don't know. Scott was the only one that knew. It had something to do with his power."

"How powerful was he?"

Native Rei spoke up then, thinking she had something to add to the discussion. "Well, I saw him drag a fallen tree into the temple yard. He didn't even break a sweat and the forest is miles away."

"Sounds like he got stronger again. He always does that after a fight." replied catgirl Rei.

"He wasn't always able to lug around trees?" asked the native version of Rei Hino.

"No. About a year ago he was no stronger than any other human. Well, maybe stronger than the average, but nothing outside of what's normal for people." replied the catgirl.

"Wait, hold up. You're saying he got strong enough after one year to lift and carry trees?" asked Makoto with wide eyes.

"Yeah. He also had weird magic." explained the catgirl.

Scott listened as they discussed his past. Nothing rang any bells inside his mind yet, but every time he heard his story he felt a tiny tug on some unseen portion of his mind.

"Magic? He could use magic?" asked Urd with an arch of her finely sculpted eyebrows. Most human magic was incredibly weak. The few who were powerful enough to truly manifest anything were often divinely or infernally aided.

Ryoko answered this time. "He had powers he seemed to create at need. They were based on songs he knew from back where he came from."

"He used songs as magical catalysts?" asked Belldandy with a smile. That sounded wonderful. It was her favored form of magical manipulation as well.

"Where he came from? He isn't from your world?" asked Skuld.

Catgirl Rei shook her head and lightly flicked her kitty ears. "No. He came from another Earth."

Ryoko broke in by interjecting, "He saw the Serena from our world was in trouble through some kind of light in the forest. He crossed over to help her out."

Scott bit his lip and chewed upon as though it were the thoughts he was attempting to mull over inside his mind. There was a small familiarity about what was being said, but it was like he was hearing about a story that happened to someone else. It was no different than before.

"Ok, wait." said Skuld as she tried to understand what was going on.

"Scott is from one world, crossed into your world, became super strong, and now you three are in our world?" asked the youngest of the goddesses.

"Yeah. That sounds right."

"That makes no sense." replied Peorth as a horrible thought crossed her mind.

"Well, it's what happened." replied catgirl Rei with a shrug.

"No, I believe you. It's just.. how did he receive authorization for a wish?" asked the bikini clad goddess.

"Hey, that's right. You work for the Earth Assistance Hotline. You're only supposed to grant wishes for people born on this Earth." said Urd in response.

"Exactly. How did you get to make a wish?" asked Scott's new love interest.

"I dialed the right number?" he asked innocently.

"Oh, that really shouldn't have happened." replied Belldandy with a strange expression.

"Think we should call it in?" asked skuld.

"I'll go do it." replied Urd as she stood up. "We can't keep something like this quiet for long anyway."

The goddess of the past turned to go find the phone when a ringtone was heard emanating from Skuld's pocket. The girl blinked and looked at the number. Her eyes widened as she pressed the talk button to hear what this particular caller needed to say.

The device instantly went to speaker phone as a soft, deep baritone voice intoned, "It is I."

Scott beamed a happy smile. "Hey! I know that voice!"

"What you know THAT voice?" asked Keiichi with wide eyes.

"Yes!"

"Indeed, you do Scott." replied the resonant voice from within the cellular device.

The temple residents plus Peorth turned to Scott in shock.

"Hi dad!"

"Dad?" exclaimed Skuld wildly.

"Well.. the last time I heard this voice it called me son.." replied Scott in confusion.

"Uh.." began Urd in her own imitation of intelligence. She had no idea what to say to that.

The voice on the phone did speak, however. "Scott, the voice you heard was mine yet it was not mine."

"Ok." replied the man as though he understood that perfectly. If he did, he was the only one.

"What the heck? Who is that anyway?" asked Serena.

"The Almighty One." replied Skuld in a soft, but surprised tone. Scott knew the Almighty One? This didn't really seem to satisfy Serena as far as answers went, but she didn't get to ask anything further.

"Scott has lost his memories." said Peorth to the phone. "I wanted to help him, but I don't know what to do now. He received a wish even though he technically shouldn't have."

"He received a wish because it was necessary. This was the simplest method of making certain that he remained within the influence of heaven."

The goddesses were not certain what to make of that. It seemed like Scott was given special dispensation, though it was still a msytery as to why that was.

"His true memories are fragmented, scattered across space and time. His file must be defragmented and restored before his memories can be regained." stated the voice that was both the Alpha and the Omega.

"You make it sound like his memories are a computer program." remarked Ami. Her cheeks flushed a hot pink shade as she drew the attention of the others.

Urd answered her by saying, "All memories and life experiences are backed up within the Yggdrasil and Niddhogg systems. So, yes, he does have memory files."

"So, all you have to do is download his memories and he'll know everything again?" asked native Rei with a curious expression.

"No, it is unfortunate, but his memories cannot simply be restored in that manner. His soul has been damaged. Parts of it have splintered off into other time space continua. He must repair the tears in his spirit before he can regain his memories completely."

"He needs a soul retrieval?" asked Belldandy with a soft, yet pained, expression. Soul retrievals were difficult and time consuming. It could take years to accomplish such a task even with their help.

"That is unnecessary. The fragments are too varied and scattered to collect them all. However, his core identity is still intact. He needs to seal the tears in his soul, and allow it to regrow. Only then can his memories be restored fully." intoned the Almighty One.

"So, does this mean you can't help me?" asked Scott softly. It had been a long shot anyway."

"No. I cannot restore your memories to you as you are currently. However, once your soul has healed they will restore themselves naturally."

"How long will it take for that to happen?" asked catgirl Rei. Scott had been acting like a grown child for a while now according to what she'd seen and heard.

"He needs to find the source of his power once again. He also needs the support of those who care deeply for him."

Scott had one more question for the voice on the phone. "Who was it that sent me here if it was not you?"

The Almighty One was quite for a time, then in a deeply resonant voice he responded "The answer to that question is one you must find on your own. When you discover it, you will be complete again."

"There isn't anything you can do for him?" asked Belldandy earnestly. This was terrible news, even if there was a shred of hope involved that he might regain his memories in time.

"Unfortunately, there is not. The damage to his spiritual matrix is too complex to simply try and heal. It is within my power to restore his soul. However, it would require a graft from another source. He would never completely regain his memories if that happened. There would always be a part of him that is missing."

Scott nodded at the phone in mute silence. He did not want partial recovery if it meant never truly remembering who he was. If he had a chance to regain everything he wanted to take it.

"What about those pieces of him that are scattered all over the multiverse?" asked Skuld.

"In time they may return to Scott of their own accord. However, they may also disappear into the ether or come together at locations which are important to him in some manner. There is really no certain answer to what the prodigal portions of his soul will do." replied the voice.

The group grew silent for a moment. However, it was not long before Makoto asked, "How do you know all of that?"

The call ended suddenly, taking with it the strange sense of peace and power that existed within the room. Without the calming effect of that presence the group was suddenly filled with nervous tension and confusion.

"Who was that really?" asked Serena in a hurried tone. She had definitely felt something really strange during that call. Part of her had wanted to ask so many questions but she just could not force herself to do it. Had she asked, she would have found those sentiments and feelings shared by all of her friends. This included the cats.

"That, was the Almighty One." replied Urd soberly as she sat back down.

"Uh, yeah, but what's his name?" asked Makoto.

"He goes by many names. He doesn't like to pick and choose. Mostly he lets others name him since it makes them feel at ease." remarked Skuld lightly.

"So, well.. guess this was a bust." replied Minako. Sure, they had learned something here tonight. She wasn't sure she believed any of it, but something had definitely happened. It was hard to keep that lingering feeling of awe from overwhelming her.

"No, it wasn't, Ms. Minako." replied Scott before standing up and turning toward the door. He glanced back at the group and said, "I now have the knowledge that someday, with enough 'soul searching' I can regain what I lost. That grants me more hope than I have had since I can remember."

With that said he walked out of the room and headed toward the front door. Peorth asked him, "Where are you going?"

Scott tilted his head to the side, but did not turn to look at her as he replied, "I need to spend some time alone with my thoughts." He had so many of them to sort out at the moment that he needed a quiet place, well away from any distractions.

After he left the room Ryoko stood up to follow him, but catgirl Rei shook her head. The amazon wu stared at the girl for a moment then sighed. She knew Scott wanted to be alone but it felt wrong to not be by his side protecting him.

"So, what now?" asked Keiichi. He had been fairly talkative during dinner, despite his shyness around people he did not know. Well, he was generally shy unless he was talking about engines and vehicles. If that was the topic of discussion he was moe than able to carry a conversation. However, now he had no real idea what to say.

"Well, that guy on the phone said the ones who care about him should help to support him?" asked and reminded native Rei at the same time.

"Everything else is up to Scott. All we can do is be there for him as he struggles with this." agreed Peorth. She didn't really know anything about the guy yet, but it was her duty to be with him and teach him about 'true eternal love'. In her heart, she did hope she could live up to that need. He seemed like a nice guy.

"That guy on the phone sounded like he knew more than he let on." remarked Makoto with a frown. "We should call him back and get some answers!"

"Good luck with that. He definitely does know more than he is saying, but no one gets through to the Almighty One unless he calls them personally." grumbled Urd. She had to admit, however, that this was one of the more detailed conversations she had ever heard him render with humans present.

"This sucks." said Serena in perfect summary of the evening's events.

"Yeah, it's like a crappy manga storyline ending. Get the readers all worked up about a major plot advance then take it away at the last minute." groused native Rei as she tugged on her hair in annoyance.

"How did Scott know him though?" asked Skuld. "He doesn't have any god markings, and the Almighty One speaking directly to a human is practically unheard of without some sort of major event in progress."

"Well, he didn't. Not really." said Urd. The platinum haired goddess continued on when they turned to her for answers. "The Almighty said that it was and wasn't him. So, well.. whatever that means."

"It is really just so sad." remarked Belldandy. "I wish we could have helped Mr. Scott more. He seems like a very nice person."

Seeing the look of depression etched upon his personal goddess' face caused Keiichi to force himself to do something incredibly bold. He reached down and gave her hand a warm squeeze.

It didn't take him long to realize what he had done, though. He turned a bright shade of red and looked away. His hand lingered against hers, however.

"Wow. That was just too cute." remarked Minako as she saw the interaction between the two. Her remark caused both goddess and human to blush further. Yet, their fingers lingered together for a time despite the sense of embarrassment.

"We, should be getting back." said native Rei suddenly. "It's after ten."

"Oh yeah, Classes tomorrow." agreed Keiichi. He had to be up early for a morning class as well.

"Same here." replied Minako. A few of her friends agreed with the sentiment.

"Oh do you have to go so soon?" asked Belldandy softly. It had been nice having guests in the house that didn't break things or blow stuff up.

"Perhaps we can all meet again some time?" she continued. A hopeful expression crossed her face as she asked.

"Oh yeah. I'll bring some food next time too." replied Makoto. "I run my own bakery, and it'd be no problem to bring something over."

"How wonderful!" expressed Belldandy happily. She would be sad to see them leave, but it was nice to know they might meet up again.

With that said, everyone said their goodbyes. The girls had to head home, their stomachs filled with good food but their minds filled with questions and self-deceptions. What really had occurred here tonight? Was any of this for real? There was no way to know yet, whether this night had revealed a miracle or simply a bit of acting for their benefit.

Either way, for a concerned goddess, a sad kitty, and a dedicated samurai-in-training it would be a long lonely night waiting for Scott to return.

Xxxxx

AN: So then, here is chapter six at last. :) While it was not the quick memory fix most have hoped for, it does lead nicely into the coming chapters and it sets up the capacity for things to happen down the road and in other stories.

Next time, we have action.. romance.. hardcore kitty snuggles, and full frontal nudity! Read and Review please!


	7. Wildfire

The crisp night air swirled around the man as he gazed up at the full moon. He had spent the last few days in a reflective fog. His body went through the motions of his day as needed, but his mind had been elsewhere.

The girls tried to help him as much as they could, but he wasn't making any progress. There was something indefinable missing from within him. He had a lead on rediscovering and naming that missing piece, but at the moment he did not really know how to search.

Scott leaned back against the tree he was sitting in and gazed at the moon, bright in its fullness. There was something comforting about that action. It had a familiar feeling about it that made him think that perhaps things were not as bad as he believed. The moon had been shining its light for millions of years. Tonight, it continued to shine.

"What am I doing here?" he asked softly to the silent moon above. He closed his eyes and sighed softly. After a brief moment something within him began to stir. He was uncertain at first, but then the sensation grew stronger over the next few minutes.

Finally, Scott began to hum. He did not know any words that matched the tune at first. However, soon he began to feel them within the fractured recesses of his mind. His eyes opened slowly and he gazed up at the silver orb hanging in the night sky.

"Fighting evil by moonlight.." he whispered softly in a low tone. He continued not long after with, "Winning love by day light.."

He allowed one leg to dangle over the edge of the branch he was sitting on as he let the emotion of the moment wash over him. It was not that great of a song really. He had heard better recently. However, there was something about the simplistic little tune that he could not put his finger on. It warmed his heart and made him feel slightly better just by singing it.

The brisk evening wore on and the moon began to set beyond the trees. With a sigh he stopped singing the silly little song and casually dropped from the high branch he was perched upon. He had the day off from work today but he had to get up early anyway. He had made a promise to Ryoko.

Xxxx

Chapter 7: Wildfire

Xxxx

Peorth fluffed the laundry before hanging it out. It was strange for her to perform such a menial task. The fact that Belldandy seemed to enjoy it never ceased to amaze her. While, the raven haired goddess did not mind such tasks they were not high on her list of fun things to do when on Earth.

She wanted to do all the little things Belldandy did for Keiichi, but somehow it didn't feel like enough. Scott was an important assignment to her. She didn't know too much about him, yet. A lot of that had to do with the fact that he knew little about himself as well.

The bikini clad goddess finished up the last of her household chores and sighed. She wanted to go spend some time with cuddle muffin, as she thought of him, but he was heading off to another part of town with Ryoko. It was something about wanting to cheer the girl up.

The cat-earred fiance who followed him around had not seemed so upset about the wanna be samurai girl getting time alone with 'her man'. Most of her kitty jealousy was focused on Peorth.

The goddess looked up when she felt a familiar presence. "Good morning."

Catgirl Rei nodded at her. Now was her chance. She hated being away from Scott like this, but she wanted some time to talk to Peorth. "Yeah, it is."

The two girls stared at each other for a brief moment, before Peorth started to turn away. Rei would not let the conversation drop, however. "What's the deal with you?"

"The deal?" asked the goddess curiously.

"You've been all over Scott since you two met. I know you have that wish thing, but c'mon. You don't really care about him." said Rei as her face began to contort into a frown.

Peorth blinked at her and shook her head. "Of course I care. He's a good person and it's my duty to fulfill his wish."

"There it is again! The wish. The wish! The only reason you hang around is because your job makes you." ranted Rei as her ears flicked in irritation.

"I'm going to perform my duties and show him what true eternal love is. I can't do that if all I worry about is doing the job." replied Peorth after a moment of silent reflection.

The catgirl blinked at her tilted her head to the side. "No, you can't."

"I can't say I love him. We haven't even really known each other long enough to be considered friends either." remarked the goddes softly before she turned back to straighten the sheet she had just hung out.

Rei frowned at her. It was frustrating to no end that she had to share Scott with someone that felt that way about him.

Peorth smiled lightly to herself then turned back to the catgirl. "Eternity is a long time, though. Who knows. Maybe he'll be my Keiichi."

"Your Keiichi?"

"Didn't you see how he and Belldandy were the other night?" asked the raven haired goddess before releasing a soft sigh.

Rei considered that for a moment, her tail lashing softly. "They seemed really close."

"Yeah. They do." remarked Peorth before growing silent. The wind began to blow gently, carrying with it the scents of coming spring. It was perhaps the scent of new beginnings.

Xxxx

Scott looked at the sign outside the restaurant and nodded to Ryoko. "This is the Nekohanten."

The pokegirl smiled at him happily for a moment before they turned and walked inside. The flyer that Ami had printed out for them did not specify a date to arrive, so they decided to check into it today. They had no idea what was in store for them inside, but hopefully it would lead to training that might help Ryoko find a sense of accomplishment and growth.

Inside they were met with the sight of a very busy restaurant. The patrons were loud and demanding, the waitresses were cute and quite 'talented'. Overall the atmosphere was frenetic and eventful.

A loud crash from nearby was followed by a shout of "Stupid girl stop breaking great grandmother's dishes!"

A black haired girl soon ran through the sea of people crying as random bits of food chased after her through the air. Scott blinked and snapped his hand out to catch a flying fork that also flew in the girl's direction. He was always doing that. Something about moving objects always caught his attention. Items moving through the air nearby were almost guaranteed to be snatched up when he was around.

"Nice catch." remarked a black haired boy who was waiting tables nearby.

Scott nodded at him and smiled. "I don't even know why I do that. I see something moving in the air and I grab it."

The pig-tailed boy nodded politely then turned back to his work. The occasional hand snaked out to try and grab him on the rump but he easily avoided the pervy customers as he moved through his rounds.

"I guess we should ask someone about the challenge, master?" asked Ryoko lightly.

The man nodded at her and they moved toward the counter. There was an elderly woman standing behind it surveying the room.

She stared curiously as they approached and then her eyes drew into slits as she considered them. When they arrived at the counter Ryoko spoke up. This was her thing after all.

"Excuse me, ma'am. We came here because of a flyer we saw on the internet." explained the pokegirl as she held the flyer up to show the elder.

"Hmm, I see. So, you think you have what it takes to pass my challenge young one?" asked the ancient looking woman curiously.

"I can pass any challenge set before me. It is a samurai's duty to overcome all obstacles set in her path." proclaimed Ryoko confidently.

"Confident are we? Alright, we'll see what you've got. You can start with the dishes in back. If you can get them all cleaned inside of an hour then we'll see what else we can find for you." replied the old lady.

"Dishes? You mean this flyer is not about martial arts training?" asked the girl with a crestfallen look about herself.

A short barking laugh escaped the shriveled old woman for a moment before she shook her head and replied, "If you can't even do a few light chores, you certainly can't handle any real training."

"Oh! I see." exclaimed the pokegirl happily before turning to Scott.

"This might take longer than I originally thought."

He smiled at her. "It takes as long as it takes Ms. Ryoko. I don't remember much, but I do know that nothing worth doing can be rushed."

"A wise statement." replied the older woman thoughtfully.

Ryoko squeezed his hand and nodded. "Thank you for being so kind master. I hope we can find someone to train you too, soon."

Scott nodded lightly at her in response. "I hope the training works out for you Ms. Ryoko."

The two stared happily at each other for a moment before the older woman coughed twice sharply. They turned to her and she said, "The dishes won't wash themselves you know."

"Oh! Right!" exclaimed Ryoko witha blush before moving toward the kitchen area.

Scott watched her go then became pensive. This place seemed familiar but he couldn't quite place it.

"So, what do you intend to do young man?" asked the ancient woman.

"I'm not certain. I came with Ms. Ryoko because she thinks I should find someone to train me as well. I'm just not sure if that's a good idea."

"Oh? You don't want to learn to fight?" asked the elder in a curious tone.

He shook his head. "I don't want to hurt anyone."

"Sound like coward." replied a feminine voice from nearby.

Scott turned to the voice and blinked. Another familiar yet unfamiliar face assaulted his mind. He shrugged off the strange sensation then asked, "What's a coward?"

She blinked at him in kind then quirked an eyebrow. "Coward is someone who not want to fight."

He smiled softly. "Oh. Ok."

"You admit you are coward?" asked the girl in surprise.

"Sure. It's not like I want to fight. People get hurt when they fight."

The lavender haired girl shook her head in mild disgust. She did not care much for weak pacifist types.

Her eyes widened in surprise when Scott's hand suddenly jerked upward and caught a thrown knife. He wasn't even looking when he did it. That bespoke a great deal of skill and casual confidence.

"Saotome! Stay away from my Shampoo!" shouted a masculine voice from within the kitchen. In response the old woman jumped from her perch and went into the kitchen. A single shout of rage and pain echoed through the area before all was silent.

Scott blinked. He considered the situation then came to the only possible conclusion before asking "Why would he throw a knife at someone over hair care products?"

"He's an idiot, that's why." remarked the black haired boy from earlier. "Nice catch again."

The man smiled happily and gently laid the knife on the counter. "Knives are dangerous. Angry people shouldn't play with them."

"Yeah, no kidding." said the pig-tailed boy in response.

"There are way too many people around here that need to learn that."

Shampoo latched herself onto him and held on for dear life as she said, "Airen done with work soon, go on date with Shampoo?"

"Aw, get off me Shampoo!" exclaimed the boy in embarrassment as he struggled with the girl. The lunch crowd began to hoot and crow wildly.

Scott watched for a moment, and noticed that the guy in front of him really was trying to get free of the girl. He wasn't sure what was going on, but if she was attacking him then he had to try and stop it somehow.

"Why are you attacking him like that?" he asked after a brief moment of deliberation.

"What's it to you what Shampoo do with her Airen?" asked the girl with a frown. The black haired boy on the other hand was in shock.

"Him?" he asked aloud with a curious expression.

Scott blinked at him in confusion. Had he said something wrong?

"You said him. I'm a girl.." remarked the pig-tailed boy with wide eyes.

"Uhm, ok. I'm sorry if I offended you miss. I thought you were a boy." replied Scott with a flush evident on his face.

Shampoo grabbed the boy's chest and squeezed a little in shock. "How coward man think these belong on boy?"

Scott stared at her as the girl fondled the black haired boy's incredibly flat chest. "Uhm.."

"Hey! Cut that out Shampoo!" exclaimed the teenager as he struggled to get his amorous fiance to stop squeezing his chest in public. Needless to say the crowd was ecstatic with the show.

"He..she asked you to get off of her." remarked Scott in a slightly edged tone. It was probably the most aggressive thing he had said or done since waking up in the forest a few weeks back.

"You no tell Shampoo what to do!" snapped the girl in irritation. How dare this coward try and tell her what to do with her Airen!

"What's going on out here?" asked the old lady as she finally returned.

"Coward man try tell Shampoo what she can do with her Airen, great grandmother." replied the purple haired girl in annoyance.

"Oh? Is that so?" remarked the old lady curiously.

"He. I mean she, obviously does not want your great grand daughter to keep attacking her like this.." remarked Scott as though it were the most obvious statement in the world.

"It's cool. I can handle it." replied the pig-tailed boy-girl. He was still trying to understand why the guy seemed to think she was a guy, whens he was obviously female.

"Yeah, so you no stick your nose in amazon business."

Scott frowned at the girl. "Since Ms. Airen says she can handle it, then I'll leave it alone."

The pig-tailed boy-girl started choking and spluttering. This was mostly due to how hard Shampoo was squeezing now. "Airen? You no call airen, airen!"

"Uh. What do I call him.. her then?"

"You no call airen anything, or Shampoo kill!"exclaimed the girl in shock and outrage. How dare this weird coward call her Ranma his fiance. There were already too many of those to deal with anyway.

This girl held the guy in her arms in a threatening manner, and the way she had casually proclaimed she would kill the guy if Scott did anything set off a cascade of strange sensations within him. Scott had completely misunderstood her as anger began radiating throughout his being. Soft stirrings of dormant power began to rise as the gentlest of sonic dissonance could be heard in the background of his mind.

"Take your hands off of Ms. Airen."

Ranma widened her eyes in shock as Shampoo threw her aside like a rag-doll and glared hatefully at Scott. "Coward man have this coming!"

The world seemed to slow down for Scott as he casually noted the thrown man-woman catching himself in midair and landing gracefully atop a nearby table. The lavender haired girl lept toward him in that same instant and he felt himself instinctively moving to the side to avoid her attack.

Reality snapped back in place as he turned to see the girl already recovering from her near miss and launching into a powerful flying side kick. This time the world did not become a slow blur and he took the hit full force in the chest.

Scott went flying back with tremendous force to slam into a nearby wall. Said wall cracked backward slightly from the blow. The strike caused his head to whip back when he hit the wall, rendering him stunned temporarily as his brain sloshed around inside his skull.

Ryoko came running out of the kitchen holding a half clean plate to see what the commotion was about. When she saw her master laying on the ground seemingly hurt she immediately ran to him.

"Scott! Scott! What happened?" she cried out in shock and fear.

"Stupid coward tried to take Shampoo's airen." replied the purple haired girl with a snort of disdain.

Ryoko turned toward the purple haired girl. "You did this?"

"That what coward man get for challenging amazon warrior." remarked the girl with a superior attitude.

"Amazon? I didn't think there were any others like me in this world." replied Ryoko in shock.

"You're an amazon?" asked the old lady curiously.

Ryoko nodded lightly before standing up and placing her hand on her sword. "I don't know what happened, but you won't get away with hurting my master."

"How you claim you amazon when you calling coward man your master?" asked Shampoo in confusion. That didn't quite sit right with her feminist world views after all. Of course if Ranma had said he'd make her his bride she'd probably call him anything he wanted at this point.

The pokegirl glared hatefully at her and then unsheathed her wooden sword. "Every time you talk all I hear is hot air and stupidity."

"Dishwasher girl about to be in a world of hurt." replied Shampoo with a glare of her own. How strong could she be if she called a coward her master?

Ranma kept to herself and shook her head. For once the crazy was not after her. Besides, she was pretty sure neither of them was going to die. The guy on the ground seemed stunned but he didn't seem to be badly hurt from where she was standing.

"If you're going to do this, do it outside." said the old woman in response. She had a business to run after all.

"Fine with Shampoo." replied the lavender haired amazon with a superior snort.

Ryoko frowned at her, "I will not leave my master unattended."

"Bring coward man, Shampoo let him watch."

"Can I watch?" called a man from restaurant. This brought a few catcalls that got under the elder's skin.

"We're closed. Everyone out!"

There was a good deal of grumbling about that. However, when she moved forward and started throwing people out of the room with lightning fast speed, the grumbling ended. The former customers were too busy fleeing in terror to complain too much.

Ryoko wasn't certain that moving Scott was a good idea. She didn't really have much choice in the matter though. She had to make the overendowed bimbo pay for hurting him. She had failed to protect him and now it was her duty to bring down the one who had harmed him.

"Cologne, you seriously gonna let those two fight it out like this?" asked Ranma curiously. She knew Shampoo was blood thirsty when she got riled up. He was all for a fair fight, but how good could the girl be if she was calling the guy her master. He was dropped on the second attack.

"She needs to learn that tact is an important skill to master." replied the amazon elder before pogoing off in pursuit of her great granddaughter. Ranma nodded as though she understood but stopped after she took a few steps. Which one of them had she meant?

Outside the current enemies separated into respective sides of the training area. Ryoko placed her stunned master in a reasonably comfortably position against a nearby log and turned to face her opponent.

"Shampoo feel magnanimous. Dish washer girl give up now and go home." said the amazon with a smirk.

Ryoko placed her hand upon the hilt of her wooden blade and took up a fighting stance. She did not bother to waste time with words as that stated her intent quite eloquently.

Cologne watched the coming conflict carefully. The two newcomers had tremendous chi signatures and that normally meant powerful martial skills. She was actually shocked that the male had gone down so easily, though she did note that he seemed uninjured despite being barely conscious.

Shampoo reached behind her back and pulled out a pair of chui, sticks with large steel heads on them reminiscent of rounded hammers. Some might call them bonbori since they resembled the Japanese lanterns of the same name.

Ryoko squinted at the sudden appearance of two weapons. She thought that ronin manifested weapons, not amazon breeds. Maybe the pokegirls were different on this world?

The lavender haired Chinese Amazon smirked then shouted, "You I kill!" before launching forward in a high arching overhead strike that ate up the real estate in short order.

Her opponent focused her inherent inhuman powers and drew her sword with a slow dreadful purpose. The blade crossed her body with determination for a split second nothing happened. However, the moment Shampoo began her downward ascent a terrific gale rushed outward from Ryoko's location that sent the girl hurtling back toward where she started.

A quick mid-air flip allowed the amazon warrior to land on her feet with a look of surprise etched on her face. She had not even sensed the girl's chi when she attacked!

The pokegirl smirked lightly. It seemed that the local amazon equivalent did not know what a swordwave was. The skill itself varied among those who used it. Some people manifested it as a very close quarters vacuum strike. Others caused the wind to blow with gale force velocity with their perfect slash. Ryoko, a true adherent to the art of the blade, was able to do both.

Cologne quirked one ancient eyebrow and nodded. That seemed more like it! Unlike her granddaughter the amazon elder had seen the movements of the ponytailed samurai girl's chi. It had been sudden and precise. It was a thing of beauty in comparison to the wild and often inefficient movements of both her greatest student and her own flesh and blood.

Shampoo came on again with the intent to batter her opponent into the ground. This time Ryoko attempted to counter the attack with a quick sidestep and slash combination. Her opponent was ready for her, however.

The Chinese amazon defied all biomechanical logic by springboarding off the ground at the same instant she landed. Ryoko's committed attack passed through empty air as she caught a hard stroke to the face from the overly large hammers that the purple haired girl wielded.

The would-be samurai was sent spinning to the ground in a heavy heap as blood flew outward from her in a hot shower.

Ranma released a low slow whistle. That attack had to hurt.

"That teach fake amazon to challenge Shampoo." remarked the purple haired girl with an obnoxious smirk.

As she did so time seemed to slow down for Ryoko. Her face was badly damaged, her body struggled to stay alive even as her mind slowly slipped away. As she lay there against the warm, yet unforgiving, Earth she could see nothing at first. The fog of death had started to descend upon her vision. However, in one single instant of clarity an image came to her. Then another image followed. Soon more of them came to mind even as her physical sensations seemed to creep away into the ether. She saw the past as her life began to flash before her eyes.

Ryoko saw her saw her life as she struggled and toiled in those early years. She had been little more than a beast of burden. Time passed and her owner's Samurai mother taught her the ways of the sword. She listened to these lessons attentively. She learned about the ways of honor. Over time she began to believe she could become a true samurai as well, despite her genetic heritage. If she trained hard enough and fought enough strong opponents honorably she could do the impossible.

Time passed, her dreams did not come to fruition. She was sold to an evil hearted man who did not allow her to blossom and grow as she needed. She was beaten, abused, or ignored when not in service. She was nothing but a tool of his lusts and violence.

A day came when an even greater darkness overcame her. However, in the end she was rescued from that cruel fate and granted a second chance with a new lord. A true master who understood the heart of a warrior and the needs of his vassals. She had fallen in love with him in short order, or thought she had.

It was hard to believe how much she cared for the man behind that black helmet. He was strange, both weak and incredibly strong. He believed in her and did not laugh at her dreams. She had tried to kill him, yet welcomed her to his team and eventually into his heart. Ryoko saw these things and then she saw no more for a brief time.

The next thing that came to her not an image. It was a sound. There were no words, it was like music. Powerful, uplifting music. The sound of heavy metal guitar riffs and riotous thundering drums began to rage within the once quiet darkness.

A voice, seemingly her master's voice yet there was a strange quality to it that even her master's had not generated before. This voice called out to her in this place of darkness. "Who are you?"

She tried to respond but her mouth would not work. Her jaw was broken. She could not speak with a broken jaw.

The voice began to quiet its continuing call. However, before it died altogether it asked one more question. "Will you let your master die?"

Despite what she thought was a physical limitation she immediately spoke out into the darkness. "No!"

The moment her words erupted outward from her, a radiant light sped through the darkness, racing into the never ending night on sonic wings of sound and fury. The voice answered her quickly, taking on a stronger tone as well.

"Your master is dear to me, as are all my children. It is within my power to grant you, your heart's desire. What is it that you wish beyond all things?" asked the voice as a cascade of light and sound washed over the girl's presence. She could not fully manifest in this strange place as Scott did. Hers was not the power to stand in this place as an equal.

Without hesitation she spoke again. "I wish to be a true samurai to protect my master. I want to be able to stand with him and the others and hold my own even as I protect the ones who are dearest to me."

Though her physical form did not manifest in this place, the radiant light of truth did. Her wish truly was the most ardent desire of her heart and the metal had heard her. "There is a power which sleeps in the land you now lay dying upon. Your master knows it well. I will grant you this power, for a price."

"If it will let me protect Scott, to truly stand with him no matter what evil may befall us, then I do not care!" exclaimed the girl with power and confidence.

"So, be it. Know, however, that this power has slept for a reason and it has a duty all its own. The true evil it was meant to face was destroy for good long ago. However, there are other great evils that exist. It is your duty to do exactly as you promised." explained the light in a meteor shower of light and heavy metal thunder.

"To protect my master, and to fight the evils that exist in the world are all I have ever wanted." responded Ryoko ferverently.

"So be it. Ryoko of the virtuous heart." replied The Metal in a soft, definitive tone. The pact was sealed.

Ryoko's eyes snapped open in the next instant. Within her mind she felt the lingering presence of The Metal as it slowly passed from her existence. Before it left, it whispered three words to her. These words filled the dying girl with power and purpose. Her wounds began to heal at an alarming rate, another parting gift of The Metal.

Time began to move again. Shampoo turned away from her defeated opponent to reclaim her airen. The look of shock on her great grandmother's face made her pause for a moment.

"How?" mouthed Ranma in shock. She had seen the hit. The new girl should have been badly hurt or dead. As things stood she barely looked injured. Even those injuries seemed to be fading away as the seconds passed.

Cologne had noticed it first. The girl's chi aura began to grow steadily as she rose to her feet. It suddenly skyrocketed to alarming new heights as a radiant light began to shine from within her.

Shampoo turned back to the now standing ponytailed swordwielder. However, she was not as aware of the situation as her grandmother. She had seen battle auras before and this one was not even than impressive as such things went. "Fake amazon girl should learn stay down."

Ryoko's radiant glow died down shortly thereafter. Her response was to thrust one hand forward and take a deep breath. There was no sense of self doubt. There was no part of her that did not believe what was about to occur. She had been given a great power to protect the one she loved and she would use it.

"Armor of Wildfire!" She called out as a flaring white orb with the Japanese symbol for virtue appeared within her out-thrust palm. Tight fitting red and white armor instantly formed around her body as the light of this orb died down.

"Dao Jin!" followed a moment later before black currents of mystical energy radiated outward from her palm causing the appearance of several floral print scrolls to arrive and shoot around wildly. These scrolls dispersed and became cherry blossom petals that drifted amidst newly formed currents of red arcing mystical energy.

Soon blue and red armor, the armor of wildfire, appeared upon the girl; complete with twin swords. This was a legendary mystical samurai armor. This particular ancient samurai armor seemed to be redesigned with the 'talented' individual in mind. Ryoko's version of the armor clearly had room for boobs. Heh, perhaps The Metal was a pervert?

Though the transformation seemed to have taken nearly half a minute from Ryoko's perspective less than a second had passed for those around her. The scrolls and flower petals went unseen as one instant the girl was shouting about armor and in the next she was completely clad in it.

"The hell? She's some sort of magical girl?" asked Ranma with wide eyes. That had looked kind of cool. She didn't need cheap tricks like that, of course. Still, it had been interesting to see.

Scott began to stir lightly against his bench as he started to regain coherence. Random images of the past played through his mind in fractured form as heavy metal music played in the background. This factor more than anything was what really kept him from being up and around.

"Shampoo not care how many times fake amazon change clothes." said the purple haired Amazon as she lifted her chui and stepped forward. Her great grandmother was a bit more concerned, but she still wanted to see where this went. This was the most entertainment she'd had in days after all.

The amazon ran toward Ryoko with a scream while waving her bonburi styled mace in an intimidating manner. She wanted to get this over with quickly so she could get back to her airen.

As her mace whipped down in an incredibly powerful arc twin katanas lashed out with lightning speed to slice through the handle. Before Shampoo could recover from her broken momentum Ryoko slammed her shoulder forward in a powerful charge that sent the Chinese fighter flying backward with bone-crushing force.

Shampoo rolled after she hit the ground and popped back up before falling to her knees again. The sudden and precise assault had completely caught her offguard. Had she taken this fight more seriously, she would have been able to counter or dodge the attack. However, she had not realized that the change in clothes came with such a powerful increase in abilities.

Ryoko raced toward the downed girl intending on finishing her off. This time it was her turn to underestimate her opponent. As she swung her twin katanas down toward the fallen girl she was surprised to find herself falling back and to the side. The purple haired amazon had spun to the side on the ground and followed the movement up with a hard kick to the back of her opponents leg.

The samurai trooper tried to counter this by slashing immediately to the side in an attempt to hit her opponent, but shampoo was fighting with more skill now. She intuitively dodged this assault by rolling around the strike. The purple haired amazon wisely chose to acquire a bit of distance from the girl so that she could prepare for her next attack. Ryoko wielded her swords with lethal skill. Close quarters was not an option without a weapon.

The armored warrior got to her feet and squared off against her foe. Her power surpassed the purple haired amazons. However, they were roughly similar in speed and skill. The amazon also did not have to master a new power during a fight with someone who was roughly her equal.

Shampoo decided to do something that she normally would not. Chi attacks were useful for last ditch efforts or minor increases in speed and strength. Using the energy itself as a weapon was often counter productive since it drained the strength of the one who used it. The only reason martial artists of her caliber would use such an attack is the simple fact that they have chi to spare, so to speak. In this instance though, she felt she had little choice. This was not simply a fun sparring match. She felt the lethal intent of her opponent in her strikes. However, plan came to her the instant she considered using special techniques.

The purple haired amazon focused her energy and began to increase her strength and speed. She needed to put everything she had into the next few strikes to out maneuver and defeat her opponent.

Ryoko instinctively forced her new power to strength her legs as she moved forward to engage her opponent. As she rushed forward in a blurring movement, the world seemed to slow down around her. As she swung her blades in a dual-wielded arc her opponent backflipped gracefully over her and landed a double kick to the armored fighter that sent her flying forward in a heap.

Shampoo span forward and landed gracefully on the ground. She turned quickly to her opponent as she began to right herself and noted the sword lying on the ground nearby. Ryoko had lost her grip on one of her katanas.

Scott's kaleidoscopic past life slide show began to focus in on the most recent events prior to his awakening in the forest. The images were still a jumbled blur but one name began to softly repeat itself over and over again.

Ryoko gripped her single katana and turned to face her opponent. She had to admit this girl was definitely touch. Whatever the local amazon equivalents did for training certainly worked. She growled at herself a moment later as she realized that she could not afford to admire her opponent. This girl had harmed her master and now they were locked in battle.

Each of them held one of her swords of wildfire. Unlike most other magical powerups the armor did not have any sort of built in defense against theft. The swords existed only as long as the armor was in use. When the armor was worn anyone could pick up and wield the swords.

What followed was a frenetic series of attacks that lasted for several minutes. Strike upon strike, counter upon counter, the girls hacked and sliced at each other in an attempt to wear their opponent down. Shampoo's slightly greater agility and speed countered Ryoko's strength and skill increase readily. After several minutes passed they were both crisscross with light cuts and rapidly forming bruises.

"What do you think son in law?" asked Cologne as the girls fought each other all out.

Ranma considered at the display and shook his head, "This could go on for a while. I think Shampoo will win though. I mean eventually that girl's gonna have to change back or something right?"

Cologne wasn't sure about that. The armor was of Japanese origin, that much was certain. However, even thought it was foreign in nature she still felt as though it seemed familiar somehow. She would have to look into it later.

Things came to a head rapidly, however, as the glare of the sun caught Ryoko's eyes and she was momentarily blinded. Shampoo used the distraction to send a powerful decapitating strike toward the girl's head. Surprisingly, for Shampoo anyway, the girl's head did not fly from her shoulders in a thick fountain of blood and gore.

Ryoko's helmet did break loose however. Said protective item fell off as the girl dropped to her knees stunned.

This should have been the end of the fight. Shampoo could have slain her opponent or welcomed her into the tribe after she subjugated herself before her superior. However, fate had something altogether different in mind.

"JEDITE!" snarled an angry male voice from behind the purple haired amazon.

All four of them turned to see what was going on. Three of them were shocked to see the formerly incoherent man standing with waves of dark energy radiating off of his body. The fourth, Ryoko, merely blinked and tried to understand what was going on around her. Her grip on consciousness was slipping away.

"Who Jedite?" asked Shampoo with a blink.

Scott had seen the battle and it slowly coincided with events of his final battle with the dark general. Seeing Shampoo wielding a sword and standing over Ryoko had transformed into Jedite about to kill her. Though Shampoo and the dark general did not look alike at all, in Scott's mind he was reliving that past battle.

"You want to hurt her? You want to kill all those innocent people?" raged the man as the sound of riotous guitar riffs began to radiate around him.

"Uhm.. what coward man talking about?"

Cologne's eyes widened in utter shock. The raw power radiating from this man made her take a step back. It was a motion that was not lost on Ranma. His senses were not as refined as the old ghoul's but he definitely knew this guy was putting off serious power.

"You want to fight?" snarled Scott as words began racing through his mind. High speed metal rampaged through his mind and radiated outward from the core of his spirit as he focused all of his hate for the dark kingdom general into fuel for his powers.

"Shampoo want to take nap actually." replied the girl with wide eyes. She might have been somewhat clueless earlier but she definitely did not feel up to another fight right now.

Scott saw Soul Crusher laying near him. He picked up the sword entrusted to him by his beloved friend P-chan and turned to face his enemy with hatred twisting his features. Of course, the others only saw him picking up one of Shampoo's discarded chui handles. Reality was funny that way. Their confusion increased as he began to sing in a strong resonant voice that echoed through the backyard with enough force to make the rocks and disturbed ground around him begin to shake.

~ Raging fear from skies above,

the fire fuels my veins.

The power radiating from Scott took on a steadier tonality and hue as the discordant guitar riffs became coherent in the manner of a song.

"Why crazy man singing?" asked Shampoo with a blink.

Ryoko blinked as she tried to come to her senses. She could feel something going on around her, but her blow to the head kept her from being able to do anything but sway on the ground. Eventually she lost consciousness altogether and collapsed to the ground.

~ Destruction of humanity,

the everlasting flame.

Continued Scott as all sense of time began to fall away from him. The world began to darken in his senses as only he, Jedite, and Ryoko existed. The power around him grew in intensity.

Cologne stared at the force building within the man and knew that it was a very dark magic. She just was not certain what to do about it. It was a foreign power she was not used to. However, "destruction of humanity" did not sound pleasant.

~ Cast away, no turning back from long forgotten shores.

We'll show no mercy as they fall!

The fire burns inside!

Sang out the man in a loud resonant voice. The power around him began to build exponentially as he drew the disparate forces together to affix it to his will.

"We cannot let him complete whatever it is he is doing son in law!" exclaimed cologne with wide eyes. The raw power radiating from the man was nearly blinding in its intensity. She had no idea what he was doing, but she knew it was not something she wanted to let happen.

"Huh? What's he gonna do?" asked the pigtailed girl curiously.

"Stop him!" exclaimed the amazon matriarch as she started to pogo toward the demented mage for all she was worth. There was enough raw magical energy in that spell already to level a city block. Who knew what he planned to do with it.

"Right!" exclaimed Ranma as he raced full tilt toward the living light show that the foreign man represented.

Now..."

Began Scott as Ranma ate up the distance between them. The pigtailed girl lept toward the man with a blur of speed only to arrive a moment too late to stop his spell casting.

"PREPARE FOR WAR!" sang out Scott as time seemed to slow to an absolute crawl. The air around the man raged in a hellish inferno of heat and sound. A massive wave of energy erupted outward that sent Ranma and Cologne both flying back with incredible force. The stick that would be Soul Crusher ignited in a eldritch flame that burned with enough heat to fry the air around it. Strangely, this flame did not set anything nearby ablaze despite this fact.

"You'll die for what you've done Jedite." said Scott with a sense of finality. In his mind he was facing down the man who had slain friends, allies, and sought to destroy the world. There could be no mercy for the evil this man had wrought.

"Shampoo not know who Jedite is!" exclaimed the girl as her eyes took on a decisive 'Oh Shit' look.

Scott moved forward in a nearly invisible blur as he raced toward the man he had to kill at all cost. However, he was not the only super human fighter in this particular backyard.

The man from another world sensed a presence to his right but was surprisingly not fast enough to block the attack that was coming. Scott took a hard hit to the side of the face that sent him flying sideways. The momentum he had built up combined with Ranma's solid strike sent the man flying into a nearby stonewall. Said wall exploded upon impact with a solid slab breaking off to land atop him with a wet thump.

"Damn!" exclaimed Ranma as she landed and felt a sharp sting in his foot. Even wearing shoes, kicking that guy had hurt. She put a little experimental pressure on the sole of her foot and winced a little. The pain passed quickly though and she took a breath.

"That could have been bad." she said with a sigh. That guy was pretty sloppy as a fighter, but he had some seriously strength.

A flare of thunderous heavy metal dissonance erupted out of the rubble as Scott threw off the multiton slab and stood up to face his newest foe. The man was a mass of bruises and cuts, but he seemed to be able to fight on.

Ranma sighed. "Of course, the super powered nut jobs never go down in one hit."

Scott stared at the one who had struck him. The image before him faded in and out. At one moment he say a pony-tailed girl. At another he saw a black haired teenager with the same pig-tail. Soon he understood. The pig-tail became a ponytail, and somehow the hair became blond.

"So you're here too Zoicite!" snapped the man in anger as he gazed hatefully at the man-woman.

"The name's Ranko, Pal." informed Ranma, while using her clever little code name.

The man's only response was to tighten his grip on his flaming 'sword' and begin to sing again.

~Lay down your souls to the god's rock and roll.

Ranma widened his eyes in rising panic as he instinctively tried to dodge out of the way of what was coming. The man had built up an incredible amount of power suddenly.

"BLACK METAL!" screamed out the man as he thrust his blade toward 'Zoicite' decisively.

Evil stirrings of black metal guitar riffs radiated outward from the man as a ball of energy appeared before him. This black sphere grew swiftly and then exploded outward and away from him in massive waves of energy that snake their way across the yard at lightning fast speeds. The ropes of energy were part of what looked like dragons, complete with black lightning fangs.

As the thunderous Black Metal assault raced across the yard Ranma managed to avoid a direct hit. However, she did receive a mild brush from one of the passing dragons and felt the very life being ripped out of her.

The energy attack continued onward slamming into, then through, the Nekohanten before crossing the street and obliterating the bottom left side of an unfinished office building. Ominous cracking sounds could be heard as everyone looked over in shock to see the multistory building falling toward them.

A bespectacled duck waddled out of the wreckage of the Nekohanten mere seconds before the falling building crashed down upon the restaurant.

There was a decidedly eerie silence that befell the area for a moment before Scott gasped aloud and fell to his knees. The power he had used was taking its toll on him. In his enraged state he had not rationed his abilities as he normally would. He had gone all out and received terrible wounds. It was all he could do to even remain conscious due to the heavy energy drain he had experienced.

Two things crossed Ranma's mind after this impact of the events made themselves apparent to him. The first thing was, 'Man I have got to learn that technique!' The second thing was "Stop attacking me duck boy!"

The duck in question acted as though it did not care about a falling building and continued to honk and peck at his opponent.

The sound of crying could be heard from the man who had caused this devestation not long after. He was struggling to stay conscious, but it didn't really matter to him anymore. He had failed once again to beat Jedite and the dark kingdom.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't strong enough." whispered the man before he fell forward like a puppet who's strings had been cut. He would lie there limply for but a few moments before Cologne ordered Ranma and Shampoo to grab the two unconscious fighters. The sound of sirens signaled their cue to be gone from here. She had no issue with making up a convincing lie about the Nekohanten. However, she did not want to deal with any questions at the moment. She was just thankful that she had moved her priceless artifacts to a safer location after the last time her granddaughter had run off with one of them. Using them wasn't the issue. Using them without permission was, however.

"Where we going old ghoul?" asked Ranma curiously.

Cologne whapped him on the back of the head hard enough to nearly make him drop the limp man in her arms. "Doctor Tofu's. We need to get these two treated. Why are you moving so slowly anyway?"

"Dunno. Felt like part of me got ripped out when that attack of his went off though."

Cologne nodded at that. She would not have wanted to be on the receiving end of that attack directly. That thing had screamed death and darkness. It was a strange attack to see used by what had seemed to be a very gentle man.

Xxxxx

AN: So, there we go. A nice little action sequence. Sadly there was no nudity. Ha ha, you thought there would be.

If anyone believes Scott or Ryoko are too overpowered then obviously they have not read Scott In Pokegirl Land. I think that Shampoo probably is a better fighter than a newly awakened Ronin Warrior/Samurai Trooper. Ryoko will get stronger quickly though, if she is anything like the originals. She's already stronger than they were in the beginning anyway due to being a pokegirl.

Up next: Scott's memories, Those who are forgotten, Ryoko of the wildfire, and possibly full frontal nudity and kitty snuggles!


	8. Crossover Countdown

Deep within the confines of the dark kingdom a bizarre scene was unfolding. Beryl, queen of darkness and ruler of the Negaverse, was trying to fathom how to proceed with her plans. This was considerably strange due to the fact that she normally allowed her minions to plot and plan while she focused on other tasks.

The new power that was arrayed against her were formidable indeed. The strange woman who had slain her youma minions had shown an incredibly level of strength. In all honesty, she did not know a proper way to eliminate such a threat outside of a full-scale assault.

For a brief moment she felt herself wishing she had not banished Jedite to the outer darkness. He was the best among her tacticians. The two remaining generals were clever and powerful, but they were not true strategists.

Her only real options at the moment were limited. She would have to bide her time and try to awaken Metallia before making her move. With the ancient evil queen backing her once again, the Earth would fall. Surely, those annoying silver millennium brats and their new friend could not defeat a fully restored Negaforce. Even queen Serenity had lost her life in that struggle.

Beryl gazed into her crystal ball and considered for a time. Her eyes grew wide with cruel ambition not long after. She had the perfect plan after all.

Xxxx

Chapter 8: Crossover Countdown

Xxxx

Ryoko looked up as Rei entered the room. It had been two days since the incident at the Nekohanten and nothing had worked for their master yet. "Hi."

The catgirl nodded at her softly and responded softly, "Hi."

The two of them took up positions at their beloved master's bed side and gazed down at him silently. His body appeared uninjured but he had not awoken yet. There was no rhyme or reason for it that the doctor could discover beyond a sense of something vital that was missing.

After a half hour of watching the man breathe rhythmically the girls noted the entry of the new girl in Scott's life. Peorth nodded to them softly but did not seem particularly joyful. She had gone to find help for Scott, but so far there was nothing that seemed to work. Even the goddesses' combined healing powers had not woken him up, though his body had finished healing much faster than even it normally would have.

"So, you haven't found anything?" asked Rei with tired eyes. When Peorth shook her head, the sense of despondency in the room deepened significantly.

The goddess took a deep breath then said, "There is nothing I can do from here. I'll have to go back to Heaven and look into his files personally."

"Do you think that will help?" asked Ryoko.

Peorth nodded slowly after a moment. "Honestly, it's the only thing I can think to do. While I'm there I can run a few searches on the Yggdrasil personally to see if there is anything that might work."

Rei noticed how her voice seemed to trail off as she finished speaking and asked, "There's a but in there somewhere isn't there?"

"Yes. The difference between the rate of time passing here and there can be quite problematic. A few minutes there might equals hours or days here. Sometimes the opposite is true as well."

"So, basically you might be gone for an hour, find what Scott needs, but come back days later?" asked Rei with a melancholy tone. It was never easy, was it?

"That's if we're lucky. It could be weeks, or far longer, depending on how the dimensions synchronize while I'm gone." explained the goddess before shaking her head.

"Would it help if we came to look with you?" asked Ryoko with downcast eyes. She never took them from Scott's face.

"I can't bring you with me, I'm sorry. Even if I did, I am not certain the system would even work for you." replied Peorth before taking a deep breath and turning away. She had to go find a camera and get to work.

She stopped on the way out and looked back at the girls who would not leave Scott's side unless they had to. She had been an outsider since the day they had met, but that point was driven home here. It hurt to see him lying on the bed, when he had been in her charge. Nothing she had done worked for him. In effect she had proven to be next to useless.

Taking in the sight of his loyal friends and lovers standing by him in the sole hope that he would wake up was sobering. What right did she have to claim to be a teacher for him in the realm of love, when he was obviously well loved already.

Neither of the girls looked at her as she slowly turned away again and left the room. The only thing she could do is find a way to help him, to prove that she cared even if it was not as deeply as his true friends yet. It was the least she could do for him.

Xxxx

He had walked through the burning desert without end, nothing on the horizon but more sand and the promise of death, for what seemed like an eternity. Despite the blistering sun and the unending thirst he continued to move, slowly, inexorably toward some destination he did not know.

In this barren wasteland the wind howled like a demon crying out for his very soul. A soul without either name or even memory of what or who it was. All he knew was that he was a he, and that he had to reach the destination he traveled toward. It was the only point in his existence.

As the howling demon wind blew sand like tiny unrelenting shards of glass he struggled forward, always and eternally forward. If he stopped he knew he would not start again.

Time passed for the man in the hellish sun scorched desert as the man staggered along. The sun grew higher in the sky, but somehow he knew he was approaching his destination at last. Something was about to change. He just had to keep moving forward or risk becoming yet another pile of dust on this unending desert of the lost and forgotten.

Xxxxx

Inside a small clinic in the ward of Nerima a man continued to sleep. It had been a week since the battle of the Nekohanten and Scott's energies had been drained greatly in the process. He was barely alive despite consistent attempts by both Doctor Tofu, the resident healer, and Cologne, formerly homeless old ghoul. The Nekohanten and the unfinished building across the street from her restaurant had been miraculously repaired in the night.

When his other friends had shown up there seemed to be a brief bit of hope that the strange bikini clad woman who barreled past them might be able to help. Even her decidedly potent magical powers did not heal the man. It was as though he was beyond any help save for his own ability to heal.

"Still, no luck with discovering what's wrong with the guy?" asked a male Ranma in Japanese as he walked over to Cologne.

"No, son-in-law. I've never seen anything quite like this. His body seems to be uninjured, and his chi is intact. There is no reason why he should not be awake." replied the old ghoul in Japanese before translating for the Nihongo impaired.

Rei shook her head and asked in English. "Just like before."

"This has happened before? Why have you not told us until now?" asked the old woman with a scowl beginning to form.

"I wasn't there for that. I only know about this from what I was told by the others." replied the catgirl with a sigh.

The girl ran her fingers through Scott's hair and tried to fight back the tears.

"Do you know what's wrong with him, then?" asked Cologne.

The catgirl bit her lower lip and shook her head. "All I know is what I was told. He's been hospitalized frequently due to the kinds of fights we got into. The first time was different though."

"Different?" asked Ranma curiously after Cologne translated. Hospital trips weren't exactly uncommon in Nerima, though doctor Tofu tended to heal most injuries.

"I don't know how those powers of his work, but they draw on everything he has. His body, his mind, and his spirit. Minako told me that the first time he was hospitalized like this, he was in there for a month. No amount of healing magic, herbs, or medicine really helped him. He just woke up one day."

"So, the doctors in your homeland believe he used so much of his inner reserves that he was put into a coma that they could not cure?" asked Cologne curiously.

"Something like that. I think Minako mentioned that his soul had been incredibly drained of energy to the point that it almost destroyed itself. I don't really know what that means, and I don't think she did either."

"That sounds bad." remarked Ranma with a frown. He couldn't learn this guy's techniques if he died after all.

"It's worse than you think." replied Peorth as she returned. She had gone to find help for her client and was just now getting back.

"Oh? You know what is happening to this young man then?" asked Cologne. She had many questions she would like to have answered. This seemed like a good place to start.

The bikini clad goddess nodded and took a deep breath. "Unfortunately, he won't be waking up on his own."

"Wait, what?" asked Rei as she moved over to the goddess.

Ryoko sighed quietly from her spot near her master. She had barely eaten or slept since she awoke to find herself lying in a hospice near her unconscious master.

All eyes were on the goddess as she responded. "His spiritual issues have left him incapable of repairing his soul like he did before. He's missing too many pieces."

"He's going to die? Is that what you're saying?" asked Rei with a deep seated rage beginning to build within her.

"No, we're going to help him. We just have little time left to do it."

"We can help master?" asked Ryoko with sudden emotion. She had been laconic for days, but now she was showing a bit of her old spirit again.

Peorth nodded slowly. "We're going to try. Ultimately, he's the only one that can help himself though."

"What do you intend to do young lady?" asked Cologne with a curious tone of voice.

The goddess glanced down at the diminutive woman and replied, "We have to locate one of his fragmented soul pieces and bring them into close proximity."

"How?" asked Ryoko as she moved toward Peorth with an intense expression. The earnest emotion pouring from the girl's aura was enough to make the goddess take a step back.

"The temple's been set up already. We'll have to take him there and send someone to the location of one of his appropriate soul fragments."

"I'll go." said the amazon wu without hesitation.

"Alright, we don't have much time though. We need to get him to the temple before sundown so we can perform the proper spells. Dimensional travel is tricky without using the Yggdrasil system." replied Peorth before turning toward Scott.

"I don't care who comes, as long as we move now. There's only a few hours till sun down, and I don't know if he'll make it to tomorrow's sun set so we can try again." replied Peorth as she began looking over the bed Scott was lying on.

Xxxx

Urd frowned down at the sigils as she finished drawing them. It was rare for her to have to actually resort to making drawings. Her powers were normally enough to simply imprint them on reality at need. This working was too precise to rely on such tactics, however.

"So, what? Are you just going to cast a spell and send Ryoko to one of Scott's soul fragments?" asked Keiichi as he watched Urd work.

Belldandy answered for her sister by nodding and saying, "Yes. This ceremony allows for transference between dimensions other than the direct transition from our version of heaven to this dimension."

"Ok." replied Keiichi as though he actually understand what she meant. He guessed it was like some sort of science fiction show where the characters jumped into alternate realities like a mirror universe or something.

Skuld frowned at all of the highly technical magical scribblings in Urd's pattern. She was certain a machine would have written the words and symbols out better.

Peorth came up the steps to the yard with Ryoko in tow not long after Urd announced that she was finished.

"Alright, has our interdimensional retriever been prepped?" asked the goddess of the past as she looked over the working one more time. Everything was flawless.

Ryoko held up a small crystal necklace and nodded. "You send me to a place near Scott's soul fragment and I use this to locate it."

"Essentially yes. That necklace is a portion of his bio-etheric energy that has been crystalized. It will be able to detect a force resonance pattern of the exact same wave length no matter how far away it is." replied Urd.

"Don't lose it even after you find the fragment. It's your only way back. We aren't allowed to use the Yggdrasil system for this retrieval. Otherwise one of us would have just gone and gotten it." further remarked Urd.

"I understand. How do I bring it back?" asked Ryoko as she moved toward a spot that Peorth gestured at a moment later. The sun would be setting soon and true dusk would be upon them. They had to finish this before that moment occurred.

"You'll return with it the moment the crystal touches the fragment." replied Belldandy with a mildly nervous expression. She really hoped this worked. Scott had seemed like a very nice person.

The pony-tailed amazon wu nodded slowly and took a deep breath. Not long after the four goddesses took up sport equidistant from each other around the encircled symbol on the ground. The symbol seemed simple enough to the untrained eye. It was a circle that enclosed a square which held a triangle. What untrained human and pokegirl eyes could not see were the non-visible lines of etheric force that would act as the pattern for the forces the goddesses were about to unleash.

"Close your eyes and relax." suggested Belldandy with a smile before she and the other goddesses took a deep breath.

Ryoko did as she suggested. Soon she heard the sound of unearthly singing as the four goddesses began to interweave their voices and powers to fill the pattern. Her body began to grow heavy and soon she felt herself falling backward as she slowly lost consciousness.

The sense of falling grew more profound as the singing was slowly drowned out by a loud vibration that felt like the dull roar of an ocean crashing onto a sandy shore. Soon even this sound faded and all she knew was darkness and silence.

A cool breeze whispered across the girl's skin an unknown amount of time later causing Ryoko to gasp loudly as she awoke on the cool forest floor. It was late afternoon, as evidenced by the sun beginning to set below the horizon. Whatever alien world this was, it still had a proper sun.

She set aside her inner commentary for a moment and held up the crystal necklace she had been given. It would lead her to Scott's soul fragment, and act as her gateway home. Ryoko held it up and turned slowly until a soft blue glow began to emanate from it.

With her direction determined, the girl set off at a steady walk. She knew she was close to where she had to go due to the spell that sent her here. However, she could not afford to waste time. At the most she had a single night to find the fragment of her beloved master's soul.

A few hours passed as she traversed the forest area in the growing dark. The crystal grew brighter with every step, or so it seemed. She could feel herself getting closer to where she needed to be.

Soon the sounds of battle reached her ears. She picked up the pace, hoping she was near her destination. The din of battle cut out not too long after she drew near to a ruined portion of an old city. In many ways it reminded her of the destroyed cities back home. Then again, weren't all post-apocalyptic city ruins essentially the same?

Her common sense reigned in her desire to rush headlong into the area, a moment before she arrived on the scene of where a high powered battle had been waged. She slid into the shadows of a nearby building and peeked over at the people standing in the center the derelict buildings. In the failing light she made out three bodies lying on the ground.

"You thought you were going to get away with what happened last night didn't you?" asked a black haired woman to a a kneeling man. Ryoko could not get a good look at the man due to the position she was in. However, her eyes widened perceptibly when she heard him speak.

"You should really bathe more than once a year. All the catgirls at the harbor probably follow you around as it is." remarked the man with false bravado. He did not have the strength to do more than talk since he had been hit with a neurological disruption spell. His muscles were forced to freeze in place with him kneeling before these evil-hearted bitches. Even his internal power armor could not be utilized despite his many attempts to call it forth.

"What did you say to me human?" asked the raven haired girl, with anger flaring in her voice.

"I merely recounted how you smell like the catch of the day, from a week ago." replied the man before coughing liquidly.

A hard slap to the face sent the man reeling sideways just enough for Ryoko to get a good look at him. Her expression went from surprised to angry beyond words. Even with the light growing dimmer she knew that face far too well. She had thought she was comin to find some random glowing light. She had been wrong. On the ground lay her master with blood pouring out his nose and mouth.

"You'll learn your place soon enough. I can't believe my sisters thought you were worth bringing here. Some author. I'll enjoy seeing that mouth of yours singing my praises soon." remarked the pale woman before she laughed along with her two cohorts.

Ryoko had had enough. She didn't know what kind of skills the people in front of her had, but she knew that she could not stand by and let them continue to do this to someone who looked exactly like her master.

She focused her energy then raced into the former parking lot. The three standing women turned toward the sudden appearance of a newcomer and felt themselves being hurled away by an incredible powerful swordwave attack that sent them flying back with gale force winds.

"Who are you!" exclaimed the black haired woman as she righted herself.

Ryoko didn't waste time answering her. She grabbed her necklace and touched it to her master's doppelganger. A brilliant light erupted around them and before the other's could react the two of them disappeared from view.

Xxxx

He awoke slowly amidst a sea of familiar, yet unfamiliar voices. His vision was blurred for a brief moment. Slowly, it cleared and he found himself in a modestly appointed room among six people that he swore he knew somehow.

"Urd! We have to figure out what went wrong, there isn't much time." replied a woman in a very familiar monokini.

The man gazed at the woman named 'Urd and took in the site of the platinum hair and rich skin tone."

"Peorth, it worked exactly as it was supposed to. Maybe the crystal was damaged in the transition." remarked the platinum haired woman.

The man on the bed allowed his gaze to shift to a short black haired man, a short black haired girl, and someone he swore looked a lot like Ryoko from Battle Royale highschool. Well, he thought it was Battle Royale Highschool. He hadn't seen the series in a while.

The only female brunette in the room spoke up saying, "Maybe the almighty one can help us? He seemed to know who he was. We need to return this poor unfortunate to his rightful dimension and try again."

Unable to stay silent any longer, the poor unfortunate man spoke. "Belldandy might be right."

All eyes turned to him in shock and suspicion. "What? Oh you're awake!" exclaimed the brunette in question.

The short man with black hair spoke up asking in a concerned tone, "How did you know Belldandy's name? I don't think anyone mentioned it since you were brought here."

The man squinted at the black haired midget for a moment then said, "Well, Keiichi, who hasn't heard of Belldandy? She's very popular among the shut ins like me."

"Wait, whoa. How did you know his name? Who are you?" asked the black haired girl.

"I guess you're Skuld. With those marks on your face you'd either be the youngest Norn or Peorth with a reverse growth spurt." remarked the man as he slowly started to feel his muscles unfreeze.

"Ok, how do you know everyone here?" asked The larger version of the shortest girl in the room.

He squinted at her and nodded. "Well, considering the Norns, Keiichi, and the Ryoko look alike.. I'd

say you're Peorth. Though, what Ryoko from Battle Royale Highschool is doing here is anyone's guess."

"You look so much like him." replied the red haired girl with sudden emotion. It was a soft spoken statement that tugged at the man's heart a little as he watched her tears began to fall.

"So much like who?" asked the man.

"My master." remarked the girl with down cast eyes. She had failed in her mission. She had thought for certain that the man who looked so much like her master had been his lost fragment.

"What's your name anyway? We're sorry for bringing you here like this." asked Urd.

"My name is Scott." replied the man with a sigh. The reactions he received were a mixture of surprise, concern, and simple acceptance.

"Well, I guess that makes sense. You do look a lot like him." remarked Peorth thoughtfully. Dimensional analogs were funny that way.

Scott considered her statement and asked, "What, is there another version of me running around here?"

"It seems so. We're very sorry about this Mr. Scott. We were trying to help our Friend Scott by retrieving his soul." said Belldandy.

"Your friend Scott, who needs a soul retrieval?" asked the man curiously before shaking his head and chuckling a little. "I must have fallen and bumped my head. The next thing you know you'll tell me he uses heavy metal song lyrics to fuel incredibly powerful magic that can level buildings."

Ryoko nodded at him while the others shared a look.

Scott sighed, "You're kidding right? I'm there? I've been brought there?"

"There?" asked Skuld.

"I'm in a freaking crossover of one of my own stories." remarked the man irritably before shaking his head in consternation.

Ryoko widened her eyes a little at that statement. His ranting sounded a lot like stuff her own master said.

"What do you mean one of your stories?" asked Keiichi in confusion.

"It's a story called Scott In Pokegirl Land. Though, I guess now I'm in the post Volume One setting I had thought up but never really typed out. I had plenty of notes for what I wanted to do with it, but I never got a chance to finish."

"You wrote a story about my master?" asked Ryoko with a confused expression.

"Wait, you're saying you wrote all this into existence?" asked Urd with a quirk of her platinum eyebrow.

"Heh, if the S-goths are right then yes. If not, then no. All I know is that it doesn't surprise me much that my alter-ego is real. He was a self insert of me, so ya know it's like a tiny little piece of me was put into the story for shits and giggles."

"Self-insert? What are you talking about?" asked Peorth as she came closer the the prone man. He was horribly wounded, from his treatment back in his home dimension.

Scott smiled softly through his split lip and sighed. "I was always writing those, putting myself into the pokegirl world or other fandoms like Sailor Moon or Ah! My Goddess! I invested a lot of time and energy so in a sense it was like part of me was in those stories for real."

"That almost sounds like my master is a fragment of you." remarked Ryoko with her brows knit together.

The man blinked as her words processed a little. He lightly bit his split lip causing it to bleed slightly as he thought. Finally he said, "So that's what it's all been about. The fragment stuff."

Peorth asked, "You know something about what's happened to Scott, uh our Scott?"

"Maybe. I mean, if it's like what I wrote.I doubt everything is the same. For one I don't recall making myself a character in the story who explains stuff about my other self-insert character." replied the man with a sigh.

He'd finally had enough of being in pain and reached down into one of his cargo pockets to root around for a p-med. Upon retrieval he injected himself and sighed as the healing power of the medicine took over and began to restore him to normal.

"Never mind about all that story stuff, do you know how to help our Scott or not?" asked Peorth.

"Well, that really depends on a few things." replied the man as his wounds slowly disappeared.

"What things?" asked Skuld with a curious tone and a tilt of the head. This guy had a weird aura just like the other Scott, though it was a different kind of weird. He looked like two different people in one body.

"Well for one thing, what's wrong with him?" asked the man as he blinked experimentally. The vision in his left eye began to improve dramatically not long after asking his question.

Ryoko stepped closer to him and said, "He's hurt. He won't wake up even though he's perfectly healthy. Rei said he was like this before and it had to do with his soul."

"Oh, that. He probably just has to finish his soul searching and such. Did he use his power all at once or face a really tough fight and drop like a rock?" asked Scott curiously before scratching at an itch that suddenly appeared along his forehead.

"Yes."

The man nodded and closed his eyes. That was a fairly concise answer.

"You're saying all we have to do is wait and he'll get better on his own?" asked Urd slowly. That seemed like very dangerous advice.

"No. I'm saying there isn't much you can do for him. Too much tinkering could destroy the tiny threads that still bind his soul together. He has to find a way to strengthen them on his own. The first time he probably underwent intense physical training in a dream state to harden himself to the dangers of the world and strengthen his soul." replied Scott thoughtfully.

"Is that what he's doing this time?" asked Keiichi, suddenly curious. He knew how to stay out of the limelight but this didn't seem like one of those times.

"I honestly, couldn't tell you. I had so many notes about random things I was planning to write. There's no way to know if any of them apply." replied Scott before biting his lip softly.

"Is there anything you can do for my master?" asked Ryoko hopefully.

Scott thought about it for a minute then blinked as an idea crossed his mind. Slowly he shook his head as he followed the thought to its logical conclusion. "I'm not sure. There is something I could try, but I don't know if it will work here."

"What?" asked Peorth curiously.

"I developed a few random abilities after being dragged to that alternate universe pokegirl world. One of those abilities is something I named the "Eye of God." If I can use it here I will be able to know everything about anything within a certain distance from me. I might not be able to directly help my other me, but it's possible I could see how he's doing and relay that information.

"The Eye of God, huh?" asked Urd skeptically.

"What would you call an ability that lets you know the innermost thoughts, drives, and desires of all things within a few miles of your location? Not just living creatures but the wind, rocks, fire, and random solicitors as well." asked Scott with an eyebrow quirk of his own.

"Only the almighty one can do that! Even a first class goddess can only sense thoughts of those directly around her. Otherwise she has to have a strong bond, something to concentrate on, or something." remarked the platinum haired goddess.

"I could try it right now, but it takes a while to work and there are issues." replied the man thoughtfully.

"What kind of issues?" asked Skuld curiously.

"Well, for one how come I'm speaking Japanese?" asked the man as he realized that he was not speaking in English anymore.

"Uh, oh!" exclaimed Peorth. "I have a spell active on me that makes all people speak and understand each other fluently. We were speaking in Japanese and you were in proximity to me."

Scott nodded. That made about as much sense as anything else so far today.

"Alright, the other thing is that I am not sure it will work and I don't know if my fragile little mind can handle all those naughty customer service related thoughts in your head Peorth, much less whatever's going on in Urd's noggin."

"Urd's noggin? Don't talk about me like you know me. It's rude." remarked Urd in mild annoyance. The fact that he had insulted her innocent and demure nature was certainly a strike against the man. Of course, someone discovering that Urd actually had an innocent and demure nature would have been as likely as having an alien space babe in a tiger stripped bikini landing on Earth demanding a game of tag to decide whether or not to invade the planet.

"Sorry. Anyway, It also takes what I consider to be a lot of magical energy for me to do it, and I'm kind of drained due to how those S-goths raped me." remarked the man casually.

"Heh, you know making rape jokes isn't funny." remarked Urd.

Scott glanced up at her and allowed his eyes to close softly. "Who said I was joking?"

That brought the mildly festive atmosphere down several notches as the man laying on the floor mat shuddered involuntarily and shook his head. Some things a man never gets used to. What that Dildoqueen had done to him was nothing new. It was humiliating as hell for it to happen again after all that time, but it wasn't new.

"Do you want to get some rest before you try your spell?" asked Belldandy in a soft worried tone.

Scott nodded slightly without opening his eyes. No amount of sleep would erase what had happened from his mind, but at least he could try to move forward with his life.

"Sorry." remarked to man softly as they began filtering out of the room. None of them were certain why it felt wrong to hear him apologize to them.

Xxxx

AN: So, here's chapter eight.

For those who do not know the Scott that was dragged into this story is from another pokegirl self-insert story I wrote titled "Resolve."

I can't seem to make links appear here even when I don't try to make them links. The only way you will find the story I'm referencing is to perform a search engine search for pokegirlspokecenter (no space) if you don't know the place already. It isn an invisionfree forum site for pokegirls.

I go by "Soldier Of Love" on that site and have several ongoing pokegirls stories there. A lot of them are different takes on self insertion, however.


	9. Memories

Beryl walked slowly around her handiwork and nodded. Yes, at last it was complete. It had taken a tremendous amount of the energy her followers had stored up for the awakening of Metallia, but it would be worth it.

"You wanted to see me queen Beryl?" asked Endymion after teleporting into the room.

The dark queen of the negaverse turned to the former human and quirked a single scarlet eyebrow imperiously. "Yes, I have a task for you."

"I live to serve my queen."

"I know." replied the former shamaness before waving her hand over the sphere of utter darkness.

"Within this sphere resides a key. You will take it and use it to destroy those wretched senshi and their allies once and for all."

"Yes, my queen. How am I to do this?" asked the dark general as he lifted his eyes toward the sphere in question.

"This key unlocks a sealed gate. This gate houses a demon, a true demon, from this world's ancient past. As the holder of this key you will be its master. Use it to destroy those senshi, their allies, and the whole city if you like. I grow tired of their interference." explained the queen bitch of the dark kingdom.

"A demon?" asked Endymion in confusion. As far as he knew the dark kingdom had no allies. They used youma, beings that had similarities to true demons but who were much weaker.

"Yes, now go. Succeed and I shall reward you." she promised with a lightly fanged smile.

Endymion did not bother to respond as he took the glowing sphere and teleported away. He was not certain which would be better in this instance, victory or death.

Xxx

Chapter 9: Memories

Xxx

Serena walked into the clinic and looked around. The girls had all decided to meet up today, since there was a chance Scott might get some help.

"You're late meatball head." said Rei as the pony-tailed girl walked up to her friends.

"Don't you ever get tired of calling me that?" asked the blond with a frown.

"Do you ever get tired of that hairstyle?" replied the raven haired girl before turning the page of her magazine.

"What-ever." said the leader of the senshi in civilian guise. She frowned at the girl and asked, "If I'm so late, where's everyone else?"

"The other me and Ryoko are in with Scott. The rest of us are over at the Nekohanten. Those goddesses supposedly repaired it and the building next door."

"Whoa? Seriously? I thought the place was totally trashed?" asked the college girl before flopping down in a seat of her own. She had run the entire way to get here, and only Rei was around. It was annoying to race over just to get nagged.

Peorth walked in a few minutes later and looked around. "Oh Rei. Where is everyone?"

"They're picking up dinner at the Nekohanten." remarked Rei before looking up. She blinked when she saw a disturbingly familiar face behind the self-professed goddess.

"Scott? You're awake?" she asked with wide eyes.

"What?" asked Serena before leaning to the side. Her eyes widened in shock as well. The man was supposed to be in a coma!

"Wow." replied the man with a soft blush. He wasn't certain why, but the girls in the lobby looked somewhat familiar. Beyond that, they were also more than a little 'pretty'.

"Seriously?" asked Peorth as she looked back at him.

"Hmm?" asked the man while blinking his eyes.

"You blush when you see a couple of teenage girls, but didn't seem phased at all when you slept with Urd last night?"

"What! Hey, don't say it like that." muttered the man.

"No way! You were in a coma and you're already out two-timing the other Rei?" asked the raven haired girl with a hateful scowl.

"The other Rei?" he asked curiously.

Peorth laughed softly at their antics for a moment then shook her head. "This is too easy."

"What's going on?" asked catgirl Rei as she poked her head through the door to the comatose man's room. When she saw the man standing in the other doorway she gasped aloud, then quickly turned back to the bed behind her.

"You're surprised too? Come, now. You already knew about this!" explained Peorth with a smirk.

"Scott?" asked the catgirl with confusion writ large upon her features. The shimmer of her eyes seemed to increase exponentially as tears began to form.

The man looked at her for a moment. "Not the one you think. Though I am Scott."

"Wait, what? You're Scott but not?" asked Serena intelligently. This was becoming more than a little confusing.

Scott glanced at catgirl Rei, then at the other Rei. He blinked and turned to Serena. "Meatball head?"

"Huh? Hey!" exclaimed the girl in question.

Local Rei snickered lightly as the blond got up and waved her hands around spastically. "What gives!"

"So, this is Dr. Tofu's clinic. I've met the cast of Ah! Megami-sama. Hmm, and by your reaction you'd be Serena Tsukino? Uhm, do you go by Serena or is it Usagi?"

"Serena.." replied the girl softly. No one really called her Usagi except for her parents and Mamoru a few times.

"Well, I take it I'm not Endymion in this timeline, so that makes this a bit closer to the source material. Hmm." replied the man lightly as he processed this new information.

"Wait, you're Endymion?" asked Local Rei curiously.

"Well, no not me personally. At least I don't think so. In at least one timeline one of my analogs was though."

"That wasn't confusing at all." replied local Rei.

"It's really true? You're really Scott.. just not my.." replied catgirl Rei.

The man nodded at her. "Yeah, seems so. I am not sure what I can do for him, but I can at least check to see what he's doing in his mindscape."

"You know about that?" asked the catgirl with soft shimmering eyes. She chewed on her bottom lip a little as she nodded slowly.

He nodded slowly.

"Mr. Scott?" asked Ryoko as she walked up behind her harem sister. She did not want to leave her master's side, but she felt the need to know what was going on.

"Hello Ms. Ryoko. How's your Scott doing?" questioned the man in reply.

"He does not appear to be doing any better. Do you think you can help him?" she asked with sincere concern.

"I'll do my best."

"Let's go in. You said you'd need time to check him out before trying your spell." suggested Peorth.

Scott nodded at her. "Yeah."

The group moved into the room but were soon joined by a small crowd of people returning from the Nekohanten. Dozens of questions were asked but Scott did not have much tolerance at the moment. He needed to do what he could while there was a chance. He owed these people, and his other self, that much at least.

Ryoko stepped back slightly, but moved closer to her master from the other direction. The conscious version of Scott glanced around the room to see several sailor senshi, a few people from the Ranma verse, a quartet of goddesses, and a catgirl all crowded into the small room. The only thing he could think was, 'I hope no one farts. We'd all die."

"What is it you intend to do again young.. man?" asked Cologne as she stared at his strange chi aura. It seemed that the Scott they had met was not the only one with strange energy signatures.

"Nothing really. I'm just going to take a peak at all the background character information, unravel this portion of the story, and discover whether there is anything we can do to help this version of me." replied the man with a smile.

"That makes no sense!" replied local Rei.

Scott sighed softly at her. "Fine, I'm going to meditate for a few minutes, assume omniscience, understand the fundamental course of time, space, and the human heart, then determine whether or not his soul will heal."

"That makes even less sense." remarked Serena with a frown.

"How does that make less sense?" asked Ami with raised eyebrows.

The pony-tailed former Selenite shrugged. "Hey, the first time he made it sound like he was going to take a look at a manga or something. The second time it sounded weird."

"You said you needed more room?" asked Ryoko as a means of quieting everyone.

"It would help. I've never actually done this inside a city setting, I did it twice out in the woods. I still don't know if it will work in this reality though." replied the man with a nod.

"Everyone please clear out of the room. Scott needs to concentrate so he can help us save Scott." replied Ryoko sternly.

"Oh man, I wanted to see what happens." replied Makoto.

Scott smiled at the pony-tailed girl. He looked over at Minako immediately after and blushed a little before turning away. She really did look exactly like his Minako.

"Why does he keep doing that?" Rei asked the blond girl as they started filing out of the room.

"How should I know. The other one knew my name too. Maybe I'm really popular?" replied the girl as they left the area. Only Peorth, Ryoko, and catgirl Rei remained.

"Should we leave too?" asked Peorth.

"Nah, I mostly just wanted them to stop yammering at me long enough to concentrate. If this works at all I'll pretty much know everything there is to know for miles around. Whether they're in here or the next room makes little difference." said the man as he settled down into a comfortable chair near his other-dimensional self.

The girls looked at each other for a moment then back at the seated man. His wince of pain as he settled in alarmed them slightly but he waved them off. "Just old war wounds."

He closed his eyes not long after and took a deep breath. The man began reaching for his power expecting for it to take at least a half hour to an hour to obtain his altered state of consciousness.

However, the moment he reached for his power he was startled by a sudden influx of energy. Unbeknownst to him, the unconscious form of Scott had begun to synchronize with him on a spiritual level. This close proximity of the two fragments caused each of them to begin to resonate in a way that made it ridiculously easy for the recent arrival to reach his formerly depleted inner strength.

Scott's omniscient eye of god awakened immediately flooding him with millions of images, minds, desires, and plans. Somehow his perceptional awareness grew to encompass them all readily. The difficulty in locating a single tiny story thread amidst all of these possible scenarios was greater than ever.

Time passed as he zeroed in on the might directly next to him. He had to block out the powerful spirits of those around him, especially the incredibly beautiful minds of the goddesses he had just met. Despite some of their apparent flaws, their minds and hearts radiated a purity and goodness that distracted him a great deal.

Even as he focused his attention elsewhere, he took in the love Belldandy had for Keiichi, the growing sense of true emotion than Peorth had for his double, and the mixture of worry and love that emanated from Catgirl Rei and Ryoko. He even sensed a tiny trickle of concern for his own life from Urd of all people.

As he focused more and more on his alternate self, the world around him began to fall away from conscious thought. It reasserted itself strongly every time he stopped seeking, however. It was as though he swam through a sea of possibilities and each time he stopped the waters of chance stopped and regained a sense of balance.

In time he began to hear soft whispers of background noise that emanated directly from his otherself. The noise grew louder the closer his mind drew to its source. Soon it increased to the point that it rendered itself into a musical score. This strange music had a slow menacing edge to it that seemed to sap at the very core of his own spirit. It was like a cross between a heavy metal guitar solo and a funeral dirge.

A brief thought of his own flashed through his god mind, 'No wonder he's dying.'

Xxxx

He struggled to reach up to the next handhold. He had been climbing for a time that seemed like forever. It seemed like sometimes he was about to reach the top, but then something happened that dragged him back down again. The harder he tried to reach where he needed to be, the farther away he felt that he was.

The whispers in the back of his mind were drowned out by a slowly growing song. Dark, foreboding thoughts filled his mind as he both heard and felt the power of the funeral dirge flowing throughout the area.

He began to find it difficult to maintain his grip as the song became stronger. His mind became weak and consumed with sorrow that he did not understand.

His dark reverie was disturbed after a while as a voice broke through the dirge like a thunderclap. "You can't climb this mountain! It doesn't end!"

Scott watched as his other self almost completely lost his grip as a wave of hopelessness overtook him. He held on by only a single handhold as a small trickle of tears began to slide along his cheeks. Something inside him snapped as dark, disjointed images flooded his consciousness. They were chaotic bits and pieces of scenes that his mind knew of, but he could not comprehend. Each of the pieces were based on personal failures that he could not fully remember, but he was slowly beginning to see.

"I, I can't." he finally spoke. There was no reason to go on. He could not climb this mountain. A short time passed and his strength faded even more. When he was close to dropping away altogether he heard that familiar voice once again. The only difference this time and the last was that the voice was calmer and seemed more supportive.

The words were hard to understand but he could feel the confidence, the power within them. His strength returned to him as he struggled to grip tight this mountain of fear and pain that he had to climb. Upward, ever upward he moved. At times he could feel his strength waning, but always that voice drove him ever closer to the top.

The music in the background slowly changed from a funeral dirge to a somber heavy metal tune, nameless but powerful. This nameless tune continued to change as time went by until it became mildly uplifting.

However, everything changed after the voice left. It had been there for him as he made his upward climb, pushing him forward lending him strength where there was none left. Suddenly, that support was gone and once again he was clinging desperately to the side of an impossibly high mountain.

The song began to change slowly back to its dirge as he felt the gripping despair begin to claw at him again. He had no one. He was no one. Even his memories were nothing but scattered remnants of forgotten moments. The emptiness of what he had became was a gnawing thing that tried to claw its way out of him so that he would fall into the depths below and never escape.

"Alone. I've always been alone." he whispered out in a hoarse sob. The darkness surrounding him grew more intense as his strength rapidly began to fade. He no longer had the will to fight, to climb toward the goal he subconsciously sought. He had no reason to go on.

His grasp slipped then and he started to fall away into the depths of the abyss below. Just as his fingers were about to lose their grip altogether a sudden image flashed through his mind. He did not understand what it was, but he felt as though it was important.

The man fought the terrible music that tore at his soul and tried to find that image again. It did not take long before another flash occurred. This time it held long enough to get a vague idea of what it was.

"Who was that?" he asked aloud. The image of a blond woman flashed in his mind's eye one more time. This time however, a softly whispered name came to mind.

"Serena?" he spoke the name in reply.

When the word left his lips a wave of light radiated out of him, accompanied by a sound reminiscent of a powerful guitar note being played. He spoke the name again, and a third time after that. The notes of music drowned out the terrible dirge that tore at the man and allowed him to regain his strength.

A female voice that seemed vaguely familiar flowed through his mind. "Please... someone... help me.."

Memories, like a shotgun blast to the heart, began to flow through his mind then. Serena, someone he cared about a great deal. She had needed him and he had crossed time and space to help her solely because of that fact.

"I crossed through the boundary between worlds to help someone I didn't know." said the man softly, his eyes wide with confusion.

The confusion slowly faded as strength filled him again. What was one little mountain compared to that feat. The man forced himself to keep climbing. He had to climb upward, ever upward. What he sought lay at the top of this mountain.

The memories of Serena kept him going for a time, but soon they were not enough. He felt himself struggling to move. The closer to the top he came the harder it was to fight, to struggle on.

When he found himself unable to push upward any further due to the pull of the abyss being too strong, he found himself assaulted by another memory. This memory was of another woman, albeit one with pointed ears.

"You have people you love and need to protect." spoke her soft, quavering, voice as though she had spoken directly to him.

His eyes widened in yet another realization as a series of memories filled his mind. "Yes, Pirotessa. There are people I do love and need to protect."

He fought with everything he had to reach upward, to grasp the next handhold. "Serena, Pirotessa." he spoke aloud in an effort to drive himself forward.

Another name came to mind. "Aaron!" he called out strongly as another powerful guitar note radiated outward from the depths of his soul.

"I'm not alone?" he asked himself softly.

As though he answered his own question he heard his voice from an earlier time say, "Never be alone again."

A sense of another individual who loved him dearly made itself known to him. He felt absolute love and loyalty, the bonds of an unbreakable friendship and trust in that individual. Hot tears began to pour from his eyes as he shouted out, "Minako!"

A flood of memories assailed his mind then as more and more of his friends and loved ones came to mind.

With each newly regained memory he cried out a name and pulled himself up to a new handhold, "Artemis" he called, as he lifted himself. "Makoto!" exclaimed the main as though he had come across a long lost friend in an unlikely place. "Ryoko!" he cried aloud as he first remembered their adversarial encounter and then her unyielding loyalty and love for him.

Instead of individual notes, the names began to form chords, then an entire song now. The funeral dirge was drowned out entirely as memories of those who loved him most began to flow through him, returning to where they belong.

As he climbed he remembered, "Arshes!" and then "Luna, you prissy cat!"

"Rei, how could I forget you." he whispered softly as he finished lifting himself up to another hand hold. He looked upward and widened his eyes in shock. He could see the top of the mountain.

He invoked another name, "Ami!" and found himself climbing higher.

"Saeko, even you Ru, you cookie addled keebler elf." said the man as he climbed higher.

He remembered "Kai Harn." as he crossed the top of the mountain and tried to pull himself up.

He clambered over the lip of the mountain and stared forward. The power radiating from him began to die down as despair once again began to creep into his heart. He'd climb the mountain only to find another one. However, even from where he stood he could tell there were no handholds. The sides were smooth.

"I can't go any higher." said the man softly. He had come so far, but he could go no further on his own.

"Forgetting someone?" came a soft masculine voice from deep within.

A series of images flashed through his mind. "Tiger. Who could forget you."

The man gasped as he found himself moving swiftly upward as though he were flying. He could not see anyone or anything moving him, but he heard the hard flap of batlike wings and felt a soft warmth all around him. As mildly homosexual as it might sound, he was flying on the wings of love and friendship.

His flight ended as swiftly as it started upon reaching the top of this newest mountain. This time he was no faced with another climb. He bore witness to a rickety bridge spawning a yawning chasm. On the other side stood a shining crystal citadel that he knew he had to reach.

The man walked forward calmly and took a step onto the bridge. It wobbled horribly and creaked in ways that caused more than a little panic to well up within the man. However, he continued forward.

Before he reached the end, however, he came face to face with the first living thing he had seen since his arduous journey had begun. This thing, for there was no better word for it, stood at the end of the bridge, denying him passage.

It did not speak, but it continued to stare at him hatefully. It would not be denied, ignored, or moved from its spot.

The man stared at it for a time then nodded softly. "I'm sorry I forgot you. You're my friend too."

The mishapen thing glared at him as acidic tears began to flow from its eyes before falling to the ground. As those tears met the stone ground they began to sizzle as they ate away at the rock.

"You're not some hideous thing that no one wants to be around." said the man. Those words caused the hideous freak-thing to take a step back. Its hatefilled expression softened then and slowly its form began to change.

The soul weary traveler took a step forward and the thing stepped back, as though it were afraid of him.

"You don't have to run from me. I remember you, you who in some ways is closest to me."

The freakish thing began crying harder upon hearing those words, but this time the tears were normal human tears. Its body continued to change until what stood before the traveler now, had the appearance of a five year old girl.

"Come here." said the man softly as he held his arms out wide to receive the soul devouring sword in a tender embrace.

She looked at him nervously for a moment, then blushed and looked away. She was still uncertain.

He walked forward and knelt down so that he was on her level. "You're not a monster, you're my friend. I'm sorry I left you all alone."

"I-I'm scared." she said softly before looking back at him.

"We both are. We don't have to be scared if we're together though. We kick way too much ass." replied the man with a smile.

The little girl giggled lightly at him and moved in for that promised hug. He wrapped his arms around her then and the embrace carried on for a time. Then, slowly she transformed once more, this time becoming the sword Soul Crusher.

The traveler hefted the naked blade and strode toward the shining citadel. As he approached he found himself prepared for anything. What he found shocked him more than a little.

Within the citadel there was crystalline beauty, but not of the type he had expected. In the center of the room was a dais that held a coffin made of quartz. Inside this coffin, rested Sailor Pluto, the guardian of time.

He stared at the sleeping woman and shook his head slowly. What did this mean?

"Pluto? Setsunna. How..?" asked the man softly.

"It's what she had to give up." replied a strangely familiar voice.

The traveler glanced over to one of the mirrorlike crystal walls and saw a man gazing back at him. This man was dressed in black armor, armor that seemed quite familiar for some reason.

"Who are you?" asked the traveler to the mirror image after it walked out of said mirror.

"Who am I?" it asked him in reply.

"I'm tired. Can we just get on with whatever it is we're supposed to be doing?" asked the traveler.

"You really don't know who I am do you? You sad son of a bitch." stated the black armored man as he strode forward calmly. A sword identical to Soul Crusher appeared in his hands as he moved toward the traveler in a threatening manner.

The traveler shook his head for a moment as a strange thought crossed his mind. It was a moment too long, however, as he was immediately forced to block with his own version of Soul Crusher.

The armored storm trooper variant and the naked guy battled fiercely for a time, as strike after strike rained down. The armored man took very little damage, but the traveler bled heavily from dozens of deep wounds before the battle came to a momentary lull.

"No wonder you lost. You can't fight for shit." stated the armored man with a metallic sounding snort.

The traveler growled at him as anger began to build. With his anger came power, radiant musically charged power.

"There you go again. You really think that's the answer don't you?" mocked the dark knight as it lunged toward him for a killing blow.

The traveler unleashed his righteous wrath upon this hateful specter. A wave of unstoppable dark power screamed outward from his outstretched hands to slam into the knight.

He knight laughed at him and suddenly grew more menacing. "You can't beat me with that. Your hatred made me, fool."

"My hatred?" asked the traveler.

"Your hatred, your fear, your doubts. Everything that made you the whiny little bitch that you are. You had it all, you dumb shit. All you had to do was stop playing games, stop living in a fucking cartoon world and take it!" railed the dark knight before slashing his blade down toward the traveler. A powerful swordwave that radiated a combination of hatred and despair assaulted the already injured man.

Unlike the armored figure, the naked guy had no protection from this power and found himself being hurled backward into the crystal wall behind him. "You're fucking useless! Jedite beat your ass! Fucking Jedite! Some leader you are!"

The traveler was assaulted by wave after wave of dark energy as the knight expressed his utter contempt for him. Each wave of force was punctuated by a different failing.

"You were supposed to protect them, help them defeat that she-bitch Beryl. Did you? No! You went off and played fucking house! Now they're dead or gone, and it's all your fault. The world died because you're a little pussy who can't stop crying about how inept he is!"

"Boo!" exclaimed the knight before unleashing a hellish wave of force toward the gasping man.

"Fucking!" continued the knight as another wave of entropic energy assaulted the possibly dying man.

"Hoo!" roared out the knight before unleashing a third entropic wave of force.

He took a brief moment to admire his handiwork before raising Soul Crusher up above his head. He began focusing all of his remaining energy. This next strike would be the kill, it had finally come to an end.

"Yes." replied the traveler softly.

The knight stopped charging his attack and tilted his head. "What the hell did you just say?"

"I did all that." said the traveler again with a little more strength in his voice. The knight felt his energy beginning to drain away even as the traveler's battered form seemed to heal and strengthen.

"Good for you. You fucking admitted it. Little late to man up now isn't it, you nameless asshole?"

The traveler shook his head. "No, it isn't. Rei and Ryoko are alive. The other's might be as well. I did not see any of them die."

"Oh, here we go with the boundless optimism bullshit. Don't you ever get tired of it?"

"Yes." stated the traveler with a brief smile.

The knight lowered his sword as the last of his dark energy petered out. "Do you know what you are?" he asked in a sarcastic tone of voice. His phrasing made it sound as though he intended to name him.

The traveler nodded and answered for himself, however. "I am a soldier of love."

The knight stared at him for a moment then said. "Gay."

"Not my thing, but who am I to judge." replied the soldier.

"You can't win you know. You tried and failed."

The traveler gazed at the knight and said, "This is not a game anymore. It isn't a movie, it's reality. I don't care about winning and losing. I care about people, my people."

"That's easy to say, but you aren't strong enough to beat Beryl, much less the thing from under the sink that she works for." replied the knight.

"As I was before, as things were altogether, there never really was a chance to defeat the Negaverse, was there?"

"Who knows. Honestly, I doubt it."

"Yes, I do doubt it. That's the problem. I doubted we would be strong enough, smart enough, and capable enough to win."

"So, you know who you are then?" asked the knight.

"I'm a lot of things, to a lot of people." replied the traveler.

"True, but without a name you're never going to be able to pull off a victory." stated the knight.

The traveler nodded. "My name is Scott. I was once a soldier, a friend, and a man who fell to despair. I have to be more than I was."

"What do you have to be?" asked the dark knight curious.

The traveler smirked. "I have to be **_GLORIOUS_**."

The dark knight looked at him for a moment and sighed metallically. "How many times are you going to make me call you gay today?"

The traveler formerly known as Scott chuckled softly. "I was trying to give you a hint. There is a certain aspect about me that I have fought and tried to deny since it began to show up."

"The weird powers?"

The traveler nodded. "I tried to be a normal human being, tried to force that onto myself, despite the constant training and power advancement. The people I love don't need a half-assed leader who doesn't know who or what he is."

"So, what will you do?"

The traveler closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them slowly. "I'll have to give up the daydream and accept reality."

"Which is?"

"I am not Scott anymore. I can't afford to be. The ones I love deserve better than what I was."

"Melodramatic much? A name's a name, you know. It's the strength and actions of the one who wears the name that counts." argued the dark knight.

"Yes, but as a man I will constantly be plagued with doubts. I need to accept more than my faults. I need to accept my strength."

"It could destroy you. You do know that don't you?" asked the dark knight with the first hint of concern for the traveler than he had shown.

"No, it will not."

The traveler suddenly found himself in a realm of complete and utter darkness. There was neither light nor sound for a time. Then, slowly a subtle rhythm similar to the strumming of a guitar could be heard.

A voice could be heard in the music, it was asking a question. "Who are you?"

"I am Scott." stated the man without pause. He might desire to change who he was, but for now he would keep his name despite his earlier misgivings. Scott felt his memories return to him fully upon realizing that truth. He recalled his name earlier, but it did not effect him until he spoke it aloud.

The music grew louder as the voice spoke again, "What are you doing here?"

"I am listening."

The music grew louder as riotous heavy metal power chords began to erupt around him in rapid fire manner. Light and sound radiated through the area like a rockstar supernova even as the voice came again. "Why?"

"I choose to."

The music cut off abruptly after that statement was uttered aloud. The voice returned anyway. "Why?"

"I want."

"What do you want?" asked the voice in utter curiosity.

"**_I WANT TO ROCK!_**" screamed Scott as he felt the pent up feelings from a life half-lived explode outward from him. All his rage, his fear, his pain, his joy, and his love erupted outward suffusing the dark lightless world with thunderous metal emotion.

The disembodied voice remained silent as the man who had dared to come into its presence, the very heart of The Metal itself, poured his heart and soul into a song that defined the very core of his being.

His body began to burn as the power overwhelmed it. No mortal being had ever rocked this hard. There were no words to this song for it was beyond such things. This song was not played, it simply was.

The song seemed to go on, and on, as all true songs do. They live eternally in the heart and in the mind of people. However, as the emotion that fueled his fire finally died down, Scott found himself no longer bound to a physical form. His body had been incinerated by the sheer amount awesome he had just unleashed within himself.

After a time, the voice spoke again. "Not bad, but you could use some work on your transitions."

"Fuck off Aldus." remarked Scott.

For the first time since the former man had started showing up in this bizarre world of darkness he heard true laughter. The dark world grew incredibly bright as the genuine mirth radiated outward into eternity.

The two embodiments of The Metal carried on for a time, eventually electing to 'jam' a little, before the voice finally asked "What do you wish to do now?"

"I will go back." stated Scott.

"You sure about that? The mortal realm might not be ready for you." replied the voice.

"It had it coming." replied the newly awakened being.

"I won't try to stop you, but be warned. Your return will not go unnoticed. You have become as I. However, there are others who embody the world song as well."

"Worried about me?" asked Scott with a chuckle.

"I always worry about cute boys I'm crushing on." remarked The Metal in a decidedly female tone of voice.

If a disembodied super being could blink and widen its eyes Scott would have done so. "You're a chick?"

"You really didn't know?" asked The Metal in confusion.

"Uh, not so much. I mean, do you have boobs or something?" asked disembodied Scott.

"Of course. They're just too epic to be seen by fragile mortal minds." remarked The Metal.

"Well, can I see them then? I mean, I'm not exactly a fragile mortal mind anymore." asked the former man.

"Will you buy me ice cream and pony rides?"

"Now you're just fucking with me."

Thunderous laughter pealed across the darkness, illuminating it once again. Sometimes, life was strange beyond belief. At other times, life was whatever the hell had just happened in this chapter.

Xxxx

AN: So here's Chapter 9. I know, it was talk heavy and such, but hey look on the bright side, the side story is only a few chapters away from being over! This means volume II is on the horizon.. or something.


	10. School's Out Forever

The man gasped in pain as he felt his very life being ripped out of him. Despite his power up, despite giving it everything he had, author Scott just did not have what it took to defeat this enemy.

His life's blood poured from his many wounds as he gazed into the eyes of his killer. Everyone around him, all of his friends new and old, had been knocked unconscious or possibly worse. All that lay before him was the certain belief that this was how his story ended.

His friends, his family from the other world had found him. They had come for him and rendered as much aid as they could in this battle, but no one was able to fight this thing. Even the goddesses had been no match. This archaic demon had sealed their powers somehow. One by one his powerful allies had been forced into their own little world, a personal hell of discipline and pain. A world they could not escape on their own.

"So, you dare to resist proper education?" asked the primordial demon of discipline as it held the horribly injured man aloft with spears of energy that seemed to ignore his body, only to pierce his very soul.

He knew he was going to die here. His author powers were nothing without plot armor. However, after all of the trauma and pain he had experienced in this last year he did not have it in him to simply give in. The man fought back in the only way he could.

"Show me a teacher with knowledge worth having and I'll be an eager student." he wheezed out, blood trickling from his lips.

The Disciplinarian snarled hatefully at him and reared back her fist in preparation to unleash the final blow. However, it was an attack that would not come. He found that he could not move his arm.

The demon looked back then widened her eyes in shock.

"Hey teacher. Leave them kids alone." remarked the man holding the beasts arm in a vice-like grip.

Author Scott glanced at the radiant figure standing behind the demon with his one good eye and barked out a laugh. The demon turned to look at the obviously deranged mortal then back at the new arrival in confusion. They looked so similar it was uncanny. Perhaps they were twins?

(AN: To see the actual battle until this point read the next chapter of Resolve once it is released)

00000

Chapter 10: School's Out Forever

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"So, you're really goin?" asked the feminine voice within the utter darkness.

Scott replied softly, "Yes. I have to."

"You don't have to do anything." said the feminine aspect of The Metal in response. She had a mildly petulant tone in her voice.

The former man was silent for a time but then he answered her petulance with, "I choose to go."

"Well, I won't argue with that. It's none of my business what you do anyway. Just remember, a physical body has limits even for those such as us."

The newly awakened being mentally agreed with her but did not feel the need to speak such thoughts aloud. Scott focused on his connection to his scattered soul fragments across the myriad realities. It took time to search for the right one, and he found that his fragments were all quite busy leading interesting and often frustrating lives. However, in time he did find the body that resonated most strongly with his core persona.

He immediately tried to connect with it, but found that there was just too much of him to fit into such a tiny vessel. The Metal laughed melodically at him for a time, until he understood what he had to do. He had to make concessions in order to squeeze as much as his 'glory' into the tiny vessel that once housed the entirety of his consciousness.

Scott awoke slowly as though he had been dreaming for a time and nothing more. It took him a few minutes to begin to recall things. His head felt like it might explode, as though it were full beyond the capacity to hold anything more.

In a brief span of time, however, he began to understand what had happened. His name, the names of his friends and loved ones, even of his new friends in this reality all came back to him in a rush. He was confused for a moment as the thought processes of his childlike mind were slowly integrated into the new being that was emerging within him. The old Scott was not being consumed so much as expanded. In a very real sense it was akin to downloading a spiritual expansion pack.

The man stood up from his bed and took an experimental step forward. He had to find out what was going on. He remembered his past, but knew precious little about the present.

As he stumbled forward, his body began to recall proper movement procedures. Soon he was walking almost normally. The sights and sounds of the world around him were crisp and came at him in a sensory range that he had never experienced before. Some of those senses seemed to blend together as well. It was like he had developed the capacity to truly understand reality as it was and not just as normal humanity envisioned it.

Scott opened the door of the small doctor's office that he was apparently being treated at, and stared in surprise at the sight before him. Buildings were on fire, or torn completely down. Bodies littered the streets, and a trail of carnage was carved into the area in an undeniable way.

He instinctively walked toward the nearest bodies and failed to recognize them. They were luke warm to the touch and deep within the man an unfathomable anger began to well up.

"Whatever did this, will not get away with it." he said softly to the uncaring dead before standing up and turning toward the path of devastation.

The world around him was quieter than a cemetary as he walked along. He moved through the wreckage of lives torn asunder, past the upended cars and horribly mangled bodies. On occasion he would see piles of dust or ash that seemed to be familiar to him in some way, but he ignored them. He had to keep moving.

It was nearly a half hour before the helicopters started buzzing above him warning the man away from the area in front of him. When one of those helicopters exploded suddenly the others pulled away. He would be left to his own devices it seemed.

His eyes widened in shock as he came acros figures that were seemingly encased in crystal prisms not long after. When he walked toward one he felt a vague sense of familiarity, but did not recognize them readily. It was not until he had moved further along that he heard the sound of voices in the distance.

Scott walked into a battle-strewn section of town that seemed to be heavily populated with people encased in crystal. It was not until he came across one particular crystal tomb that he stopped to take a closer look.

He began to tremble lightly not long after. The air around the man began to vibrate as his power slowly awoke in response to his growing anger.

"Rei.." he growled tightly as he gazed into the terrified eyes of the catgirl he had grown to care a great deal about. He heard the sound of voices again and turned toward the source.

As he walked along, more faces became known to him. They were friends, associates, and lovers. They were all trapped or dead. He could not be certain yet. All he did know was that they had been terrified when this happened to them.

Soon, he came across a creature out of some hentai nightmare. It was like a woman, save for the tentacles that ended in wickedly barbed hooks. He heard the creature speak, but he was too focused on the sense of anger welling up within him. He did not know how he knew, but deep down he knew this was the one responsible for the evil brought down upon Nerima.

Swirls of energy began to radiate outward from him as a low hum formed at his lips. With each step, each breath, that he took his power grew. Once he was within striking distance he prepared to attack. It was only then that he noticed what the creature was doing. It was about to kill someone else.

"So, you dare to resist proper education?" asked the demon as it held the horribly injured man aloft with spears of energy that seemed to ignore his body, only to pierce his very soul.

He knew he was going to die here. His author powers were nothing without plot armor. However, after all of the trauma and pain he had experienced in this last year he did not have it in him to simply give in. The man fought back in the only way he could.

"Show me a teacher with knowledge worth having and I'll be an eager student." he wheezed out, blood trickling from his lips.

The Disciplinarian snarled hatefully at him and reared back her fist in preparation to unleash the final blow. Scott reached forward and grabbed the distracted monstrosity's arm in a vice-like grip.

When she felt the grip tighten around his wrist, the demon looked back then widened her eyes in shock.

"Hey teacher. Leave them kids alone." remarked the man holding the beast's arm.

Author Scott glanced at the radiant figure standing behind the demon with his one good eye and barked out a laugh. The demon turned to look at the obviously deranged mortal then back at the new arrival in confusion. They looked so similar it was uncanny. Perhaps they were twins?

"Clever human, but your illusions will not defeat me. I will devour your souls just like I took the souls of your friends." cackled the creature loudly.

A riot of sound and light erupted outward from the recently restored emissary of the world song. The living embodiment of The Metal squeezed the creature's wrist with all the strength his awakened form could must. Unfortunately, it was not enough to actually injure the beast.

Scott found that the beast was actually far stronger than he had bargained for when a casual tug of her wrist sent the newly ascended being hurtling to the left at terrifying speed. His short flight was interrupted harshly by the sudden appearance of a wall. He slammed into it with incredible force and felt as though he had broken several bones. Experimental movements of his limbs told him that nothing was, in fact, broken. Even so, he still felt like he had been hit by a truck.

He looked up and watched with blurred vision as the demon snorted in disdain and and returned to her attempt to cull the other man's soul. Scott's vision cleared after a brief moment and he was surprised to note that the man was incredibly familiar. "Do I know him?" he asked softly to himself.

"You still resist me? How? You are neither god nor demon, yet your soul refuses my discipline." asked the beast in a quiet moment of curiosity.

Author Scott weakly spat a wad of bloody phlegm at the creature. The unsubtle gesture of disrespect sent the demon into a rage. The man was shaken like a rag doll then hurled upward into the air before being captured by a tentacle. The beast whipped him downward to slam into the broken pavement with bone shattering force. The man grew very still after that assault, and his doppelganger felt his rage boiling up again.

"Rage.. and fear, from skies above..." he began to sing softly. His body protested greatly as he forced himself to his feet and took a step toward his goal. He was clearly outmatched in this battle. This thing had killed or trapped a lot of people, some where his dear friends, and others felt like they should be.

The creature turned toward him and quirked one bushy eyebrow. It snapped a finger and pointed toward him decisively. Scott continued forward despite the lashing wave of fire that raced toward him.

"The fire fuels my veins.." sang out the man gently as his power wrapped around him like a warm blanket, protecting him from the flames and building to ever greater heights.

"Destruction of humanity, the everlasting flame." he continued unabated as his power grew. Radiant light erupted around him as the sound of a rapidly played guitar echoed throughout the area.

Windows began to rattle as the power of his song grew. The demon, however, was not impressed in the slightest. it had already sealed four goddesses that day. What was one more human compared to that?

"Cast away, no turning back from long forgotten shores.." sang out the man as his wildly erupting power began to flow inward. The rapid heavy metal guitar sound increased in both volume and tempo, as his power collapsed in upon itself, magnifying the force greatly.

The demon said. "You take far too long to cast a spell human." before spreading her tentacles out wide. Arcing electrical currents skittered along his frame before flowing forward to merge into an ball of lightning directly before its outstretched palm.

"We'll show no mercy as they fall! The fire burns inside!"

"Orb of enlightenment!" cried out the disciplinary demon before launched the highly destructive ball of energy at her singing foe.

"Now!" sang out the avatar of The Metal before he was hit with the incredible electrical force of the demon's blast. His body skittered and jerked spastically for a few seconds before he fell to his knees. Smoke wafted from his electrocuted form, and he knew that he must have terrible internal injuries to match his outer ones.

Quite a bit of his focused mystical energy fled from him in this moment of pain and electrical torment, but he kept just enough to gasp out, "Prepare for war!"

Fire exploded outward from the kneeling man as he felt his power rise dramatically. It was as thought every part of his being had been allowed to work to its full capacity, before stepping beyond that limit. Already he could feel his wounds beginning to heal at an even more accelerated pace than usual.

"Now, that was impressive. You took my weakest electrical spell directly and still managed to keep some of your power?" remarked the demon with a smirk.

His sentiments were matched by three figures watching invisibly from a nearby rooftop.

"Hmm, seems he has a bit of fight in him after all." remarked Hild as she watched the spectacle before her. She could not have planned this better herself. Those fools at the north pole had unleashed a creature that was far beyond their ability to control. During its reign of terror on the Earth so far it had sealed away all of those annoying goddesses, and provided her ample entertainment.

"Yes, lady Hild! I wonder if he'll win." agreed Mara excitedly. Senbei, a tiny little demon god of poverty, danced around with his own brand of excitement as he watched the battle. All of this misfortune was making him positively glow with the happiness he was receiving in turn.

"Hmm, I doubt it. That demon is old, very old. Four goddesses and that succubus working together couldn't seal it." remarked the queen of the damned as she continued watching.

"With the goddesses sealed, lady Hild, won't that demon end up destroying the Earth though?" asked the blond haired first class demon.

"If you're asking me for permission to help him, go ahead. It won't do either of you any good, but feel free to go die horribly." responded Hild with a mild frown.

Mara's mouth opened wide, showing off her fangs in her typical nervous fashion. "Lady Hild..ahah.. ha.."

"Truth be told, I don't even know if I could beat this demon as I am now." replied the queen of hell with more humility than she normally showed.

Mara's eyes widened in shock, but Senbei expressed the seriousness of this statement best when he stopped moving and fell out of the air to land woodenly on the rooftop.

"S-surely, lady Hild. Your power is far greater than this demon's?" asked Mara anxiously.

"If I were whole, then yes. However, I am currently only a fragment of myself. The fight would be far too even for my liking right now."

Mara glanced back down at the fight in time to see the disciplinarian swat Scott out of the air with a tentacle. The man flew backward to slam into a nearby car with a loud crash.

The blond demoness winced and shook her head. They had talked and spent a bit of time together whenever they worked the same shift. That was a small amount of time, really. However, she had started to think of the memory challenged human as a friend of sorts. She had very few of those, and seeing such an innocent soul being brutalized was not nearly as cathartic as it normally would have been.

"Surely, there is something.." said Senbei as he collected himself and noted the situation for himself.

"Maybe there is, but why should I interfere?" asked Hild in a calculating manner.

"Well, that demon did seal your daughter." replied Mara.

"I can free her any time." countered the platinum haired queen of darkness.

Senbei hit on the proper tactic first, "You know it is shame about your dress Lady Hild."

"Hmm? What are you talking about, you tiny little man?" asked Hild while watching Scott roll to his left to avoid a series of tentacle strikes that easily shattered concrete.

"Did you not spend quite a bit of time picking out the perfect dress to finally fill him with rapturous waves of unbridled sexual desire?"

"That is true."

Mara blinked then grinned to herself. "Yes, it really is a shame. That demon is making you waste all of the time you spent."

"Waste my time?" asked Hild with one sculpted eyebrow rising in interest. She hated to waste her time on anything. It was valuable. Even when she was simply lazing about, she was always hatching schemes. The thought that someone would ultimately effect her without her consent was not something she relished.

Back on the ground Scott was already beginning to have trouble simply moving. He had been beaten and battered around so much that even his body was reaching the point of regenerative failure.

"I need time, time to breathe." he said to himself as he narrowly avoided being torn in half by a tentacle that impaled a car door next to him. He stared at it briefly as the entire vehicle was lifted up and used as a hammer in an attempt to crush him. The movement was slower than a simple tentacle assault, allowing the man to evade it. However, the point was made quite clear that nowhere that he hid would be safe.

He needed something to slow the bastard down. Even with his prepare for war spell running, he was simply not strong enough or fast enough to land any real hits. Unfortunately, not of his mastered spells really worked that way. He could drain some of the creature's life force with his Black Metal spell, but he had no restraining or binding spells.

"I need to bind this asshole, slow her down." thought the man again as he lept behind a concrete wall and raced along the narrow alleyway it protected. As he ran, tentacles slammed through the material behind him, sending clouds of thick dust throughout the area.

"Stop hiding and face your punishiment you naughty little deviant!" laughed the demon as she toyed with her prey some more.

"Go back to hell!" shouted Scott in reply, and as a means to hopefully distract the creature long enough to let him heal to the point that he could run without a painful limp.

"How dare you back-talk human! I'll show you real hell!" snapped out the malevolent douchebagel as she began to power up a new spell. As she powered up, an nearly angelic smile crossed her face.

It was then that Scott realized something. The man who had been lying on the ground previously, was no longer there. It was something he quickly tried to ignore, but it still made him wonder at the meaning briefly.

However, in that moment another thought crossed his mind as well. He could feel his power, his connection to the metal. Rock, metal, any similar type of music was a venue for his power to work through. The mention of hell made him think of something.

The power he needed, he understood then how to make it happen. He did not know if he had the strength to pull it off, but he had little choice.

While the demon powered up his strange new power, Scott focused his mind and sang out.

~An angel's smile is what you sell

The familiar lyrics opened the floodgate that controlled the flow of his power. He was using his spiritual energies in a new direction. He was not actively attacking, he was attempting to create something.

~ You promise me heaven and put me through hell.

The disciplinarian continued channeling his power, but he did wonder at what the silly human was babbling about.

~ Chains of love got a hold on me.

Mara growled lightly as she found herself dancing around erratically as the sound of a guitar reached up to their heights.

"Mara? What are you doing?" asked Hild curiously.

"I'm sorry lady Hild! I can't stop dancing whenever I hear rock music!"

"Ah, yes. That's right."

Senbei was not nearly as off-put by the idea. He too was dancing in his typical pelvic thrusting fashion. "It's only rock and roll but I like it, babyyyee!"

~ When passion's a prison you can't break free.

Scott finished up the spell he had begun, Jon Bon Jovi's classic hit had formed the power nicely into the shape he wanted, but he did not know how to release it. Unlike the damage based spells, there was no clear trigger phrase.

Finally he decided that the name of the song should be the trigger phrase and tried it.

"Shot Through The Heart!" exclaimed the haggard individual a split second before the demon shouted, "Time-out!"

The power Scott had built up seemed to disappear briefly, but it suddenly coalesced as a radiant beam of light that streaked toward the demon at incredible speed. Scott tried to avoid the demon's assault but found that he could not move out of the way in time to avoid the column of darkness that moved around him.

The world seemed to slow to a crawl, then stop altogether from the man's perspective. The demon, however, could not capitalize on the situation as the beam of light had slammed into its heart with unerring accuracy. This beam of light then shattered and reformed as dozens of chains made from pure energy.

The demon, despite her incredible power, could not break free readily. She was forced to defeat the spell one chain at a time. It angered the demonic beast greatly not to immediately break free. This anger fueled its desire to enact discipline upon this wayward fool.

Scott, however, was struggling to break free from his temporal prison as well. At the moment, they were both at a standstill, neither of them were able to actively assault the other.

The world around the man moved at a snail's pace, if not slower, but his mind worked at normal speeds. He worked tirelessly to discover some way to turn the tide of battle to his advantage, but he could not discern one. This beast was just too powerful. It had killed or trapped his friends and associates already. He did not know which was the case.

While The Metal version of Scott struggled to deal with the complexities of life trapped in temporal amber, the Author version was slowly making his way toward the Tariki Hongan Shrine. He did not have the strength left to fight, and the attempt might be pointless. However, he had a strong feeling that he would find an answer to the question of how to deal with the demon that had been set loose upon the world.

The walk seemed like it took forever. However, a few minutes into that agonizing walk the man had an absurdly bright idea. He started checking the abandoned cars nearby for keys. He began to despair after a while, but he eventually found a beat up old Toyota pick-up truck that had been abandoned by the owner while it was still running.

Scott did not know why the owner would do that, but he wasn't about to ignore divine providence. He hopped in, hissed at the pain that motion caused, and set off down the road to the shrine.

Back at the scene of the battle Metal Scott was slowly working himself free of the temporal barrier he had been placed within, but so was the disciplinarian. The ancient demoness of obedience and discipline had removed all but three of the chains that bound her.

On the rooftop Hild was considering her options. She could allow this to continue. She could intervene. She could perhaps go watch television instead. Either way, she needed to make a decision. It would not be too much longer before The Almighty sent another wave of his valkyries to deal with this situation. The first group had not faired any better than the other goddesses. However, their failure would be noted and they would change their strategy.

If she planned to get involved, now would be the time to do it. The problem was, that she really did not know if she wanted to. She was torn between watching to see what would happen, and acting to end the situation. All the carnage and misery the ancient demoness was causing certainly made her happy. The issues was that wholesale slaughter and real-estate destruction may decrease demonic shares on the Earth. There were more souls aligned with the gods than with demons presently, despite what some people might think.

"Hmm, decisions, decisions." remarked Hild in an indecisive purr. Mara and Senbei backed away slightly as the queen of the damned continued to consider her options.

Author Scott reached the shrine a few minutes later, then worked his way up the stairs. The courtyard was just as he remembered it from earlier. The sense of peace and calm here continued even as the neighboring sector of town went through hell in a literal sense.

He made a bee-line for Urd's room, expecting that anything of use in the house would be in her potion lab. He spent several brief minutes trying to decipher her symbol based code system and shook his head. "What I wouldn't give to be able to read this crap." remarked the man as he continued to search.

Her books used the same symbolic short-hand. He found no help there. "Man, I need a translator." said the dimensionally displaced author before he coughed up a wad of bloody phlegm. The minor healing spell he had used had worn off already it seemed.

"Man, this sucks."

He blinked when he heard the phone ring then snorted, "Sorry, no one's home. We're busy getting our asses kicked by the teacher from hell."

The phone kept ringing, however, and the man decided that it might be important. Considering where he was, it might even lead him to a clue.

"Hello?"

"It is I." stated a warm masculine voice from the other end of the line.

Scott blanked for a brief moment then widened his eyes. "The almighty one?"

"Yes. You seek a method of defeating the demon currently unleashing havoc on Earth?" inquired the literal voice of god.

"Yeah, I had a strong feeling I would find something useful here, but I don't know what." remarked Scott.

The voice was quiet for a moment then said, "Go to the cabinet marked with a Heart, a symbol for the sun, and the symbol of flame. Take the jar you find therein that sits upon the top shelf in the far left corner."

Scott walked over to the cabinet in question, and checked to see if he could find what the almighty had mentioned. A brief moment of rooting around allowed him to discover the jar mentioned. The contents were slightly familiar to him.

"Now go into Skuld's room. There is little time, so please be quick about this." instructed the Almighty.

The author did not argue in the slightest as he moved toward the location he was directed to. Once inside the young goddess' room he looked at the high-tech, yet archaic technology and nodded. This certainly looked like it would be her room.

"You will find a large computer system in her closet. Attach the diagnostic tool of the device to your power armor's system upload core."

"Alright." replied the man as he moved to do as the leader of heaven bid him. Who was he to argue, when he was getting the help they all might need?

The man searched the machine he discover, and located what looked like a diagnostic wand for checking engines. He pressed the thing to the central node between his shoulder blades and gritted his teeth at the brief pain he felt upon making connection.

"Enter the following series of numbers and symbols as I direct." stated the voice patiently.

Scott voiced his agreement and the Almighty rattled off a list of numbers and symbols that were hard to keep up with. The man did his best, however, and after a few minutes the screen changed to a diagnostic table that displayed its contents in the English language. It showed each of his systems primary components, and diagnoses the issue that kept him from using his power armor.

"Press the repair system option, once the program runs, press the request for upgrade option." directed The Almighty.

The man complied, then felt a sudden spasm of pain that lasted for a few brief seconds then disappeared. The computer ran a second diagnostics, declared that his systems were free of viruses and corruption, then asked if he wanted to request a system upgrade. He clicked yes.

He fell to his knees as a sudden wave of energy ripped through him. He felt as though every part of his body, mind, and soul were being torn apart and reintegrated into a whole new being. Whatever, had happened, it was more shocking than painful. It passed quickly, but he felt no different. Well, that was not entirely true. He felt like his body had been repaired completely, but other than no longer feeling like a punching bag, he had noticed no other changes yet.

Upgrade requested accepted and upgrade complete ere both mentioned with a check mark on the diagnostic screen after the wave of energy passed. Once this was finished he shut everything down as directed.

"You have almost everything that you need to remove the demon that is attacking the town. Go to the Hikawa shrine and retrieve the remainder of what is needed." instructed the Almighty before disconnecting rapidly.

"Hmm, the Hikawa shrine?" asked Scott to himself as he walked out of the room with Urd's mysterious jar of something useful.

When he reached the truck, he hopped in and considered his options. He'd never been to the shrine and had no idea how to get there. It was only when a strange voice announced, "Please enter your destination." that he realized that the battered old truck actually had a GPS system.

"Fortune smiles on me huh?" he asked with a soft smirk. As he began to make the drive as directed, he idly wondered if the Almighty really did look like Morgan Freedman.

00000

AN: So, here we have chapter 10. This side story is going to be wrapped up soon it seems. I'm thinking two or three chapters left.


	11. One Hell of a Day

**Author's Notes:** Due to how closely intertwined "_**Resolve**_" and "**_Chronicles: The Forgotten_**" are, I have decided to meld the last few chapters of these stories and make them singular chapters that are shared. These stories will split off again in two more chapters, but until that time they share one storyline. I'll post this chapter and the next two chapters in both story threads for completion's sake, in case there are some who only read one story or the other.

**Second Author's Note:** I just realized after all this time that I never did upload this chapter here. In the interest of fairness, and because I have had several people ask me to continue this story. I have decided to at least try and finish Chronicles. If I can get through all of the work I have to do in the real world... for you know, food and stuff, I will try to get the entire trilogy completed someday within the next year or so. Hopefully I can finish at least this story before the end of the year. There are only a handful of chapters left in Chronicles: The Forgotten anyway. (Man this temporary side story got out of hand and became a second book all by itself!)

XXXXXXXXX

"Malachite! Report!" snapped the queen of the Negaverse. No matter how often she called for Endymion he had not come. She must know what was transpiring in Tokyo. Since the release of the ancient demon, she had been unable to scry the area in any capacity.

The platinum haired general teleported in immediately and bowed before his queen in a courtly manner. "You summoned me, my queen?"

"Yes. What is happening in Tokyo? Endymion is refusing my summons and I will know why." demanded the queen.

"Ah, that. The demon that was summoned decided to go rogue. It destroyed all of the forces that accompanied Endymion, and then encased him in crystal."

"What! Why was I not informed of this sooner?" she asked in a cold voice that radiated lethal anger.

"I only learned of it a few moments before your summons my queen. One of my minions survived the attack and returned."

"I see. I knew this demon was supposedly powerful." remarked the queen as she considered the situation for a moment.

"From what I have learned, the youma that returned to me witnessed several of these senshi and their powerful friends being brought down as well." informed the dark general.

"Hmm, well that's useful at least. I suppose I will allow this to continue for a time then." stated the queen blithely.

"As you wish my queen."

****XXXXX

**Chapter 11: The Power of Love**

XXXXX

Author Scott sighed to himself as he worked his way up the stairway of the shrine. It had taken longer to get here than he had hoped. There was no helping that fact, but he did not have the time to spare. He had something that would supposedly help them defeat the demonic teacher that was plaguing the world. What could they need at Rei's house that was so important?

He was at a loss as far as deciding what to do here. As he wandered around the property he noticed that no one seemed to be home.

With a sigh he asked aloud, "What am I even here for? I'm wasting time."

He turned and began to walk away only to stop a moment later when a plaintive, "Master..." whispered through his mind.

"Master?" the voice sounded unfamiliar but he felt as though it were definitely speaking with him. He turned back and walked toward the house connected to the shrine.

"Please, master needs me." whispered the voice plaintively.

Scott tried the doors again then walked around to the back of the house. These doors were locked too.

Finally, the man shook his head and walked over to a large rock resting nearby. "I wonder if it's a crime to break and enter a shrine if god says you need to get something from inside."

The man turned and hurled the rock through the window. The glass shattered in a loud and chaotic manner that set his teeth on edge. "Ah well, sorry about the mess."

He carefully slid his hand into the now open window and unlocked it so that he could lift it and get inside. A quick moment of struggling into the dangerously glass strewn area passed and he was inside.

"Now, where do I go?"

Scott wandered around the small home for a moment. After checking all of the rooms that were unlocked he set about trying to open the only locked one. He ended up having to kick the door open with several well-timed kicks before he made it inside. He was disappointed by what he saw.

"So, is this why I was sent here?" asked the man as he took in the sight of Scott's battered armor. That looked like it wouldn't be of any use.

However, the voice called again and the man turned to see the origin of the sound. It was stronger and more distinct here. "A sword?"

He walked over to the large two-handed bladed and slowly realized what he was staring at. "This sword... it's..."

"Please, he needs me..." whimpered the sword softly. Scott took a deep breath and reached out to grasp the hilt. Despite his thoughts on the matter, the blade did not fight him at all. He highly suspected just what this sword was, but it was definitely not acting in character.

"Are you what I came for then?"

The sword began to glow with a brilliant violet color in response. It seemed that it certainly thought that was a good reason to be here. Scott glanced to the side and noted a vial of p-meds and other assorted odds and ends. "Hmm, not much but every little bit helps."

Author Scott looked around for something to use as a carrier for the random odds and ends he had located then chose to shove it all into a pillow case. Time was of the essence.

Hild gazed down at the demon and whatever Scott was as they struggled to break free of their respective bindings. At the moment it seemed that whoever broke free first would have a major advantage. This was a bit of a conundrum for her. On one hand she wanted to see more of what Scott was capable of. On the other hand, this might be her best and only chance to keep this demon on a leash without having to resort to a personal visit in all her glory.

If she did stop it, it would be a slap in the face to The Almighty One and she could legitimately claim to be the savior of the city. He could not even gainsay that since it would be true. Her shares would soar!

The only problem with that scenario would be that she would ultimately be performing an incredibly good deed. That would sour the results for her. She was the queen of hell. She could only do good when it was to create greater evil. Otherwise what was the point?

"Not directly then." mused the evil mistress of all that is damned. Mara and Senbei turned to her with curious expressions. Lady Hild was obviously hatching a scheme.

The queen of all evil considered for a brief moment then cast her piercing gaze deep into Scott's soul. This had been incredibly difficult on the few occasions that she had tried. However, in his current predicament he was in no position to subconsciously try to block her. He delved deeply into the heart of her would be plaything and widened her eyes in shock. At the core of his being was a song, an incredibly powerful and ancient song that seemed to be his true connection to the source of his interesting magical powers.

"Ah! I know!" Hild exclaimed excitedly. She had studied the situation thoroughly in those brief moments and knew of one way she could perform a minor good deed in order to unleash great evil and spread demonic shares!

"Lady Hild?" asked Mara nervously. Her boss had a malevolently joyful air about her again that the demoness first class had come to expect whenever she had found a delightfully evil plan.

"Mara dear. Go to hell."

"Yes, Ma'am!" The blond demoness teleported back to her home land immediately in response. She knew better than to question her mistress.

Hild waited until she could feel her sub-ordinates presence in her domain then telepathically sent her a message. Go to six hundred sixty-sixth level of the armory and bring me what you find there.

"Lady Hild!" exclaimed the shocked mental voice of the demoness first class.

"Mara, are you questioning my judgment?" The queen of hell lifted one gull-white eyebrow curiously.

"No, never lady Hild!"

"Good girl, now hurry along Mara dear."

Hild smiled in the manner of a predatory jaguar who was about to enjoy a perfect kill. That smile faded a little when she noticed that the two trapped fighters would get free before her plan came to fruition.

"Can't have that now can we?"

Senbei blinked then drew back in shock as the hell queen lifted her arms and chanted an incredibly fast incantation. Red and white currents of mystical energy radiated along her form before coalescing into two spheres of pulsating evil energy. She flicked one hand imperiously, sending a ball of energy toward the demonic teacher. The other ball of energy was sent along its way with a blown kiss, just to make it special.

Despite the difference in time from when one was sent to the next, both reached their targets at the exact same time. The spells that were binding their power and movement suddenly renewed with much increased vigor. With the merest hint of her powers Hild had restarted the clock on both spells so to speak, causing the combatants to start their attempts at freedom all over again.

Meanwhile, across town author Scott was having renewed problems of his own. The beat up old Toyota he was driving chose to die on him. This left him to race along the broken streets as fast as his newly repaired body could take him while carrying a sack of goods and a sword. This did not go over well with local authorities that he had to bypass.

"Halt! Stop or I'll be forced to shoot!" exclaimed a local police officer as he chased after the incredibly athletic man. Scott lunged and jumped along the broken portions of street and shattered remnants of buildings like a demented antelope. His pursuers were forced to give up the chase when he used a battered car as a spring board to leap up and then onto a crashed bus that was blocking the road. He wasted no time in leaping off of the other side.

"Dammit!" railed the junior officer as his senior partner finally caught up to him. The older man was panting hard, after trying to keep up with the younger man and their runner.

"Just let the idiot go. If he wants to get killed that bad it's his stupidity. The JSDF will be here shortly for another go at whatever the hell that tentacled thing is."

Author Scott put a great deal of distance between himself and the pursuing law enforcement officers as he tried to determine the correct way back to where the battle had been raging. Unfortunately, his little side trip had cost him both his time and his bearings. He knew he had to be in the general area, however. The sheer devastation he was witnessing could have only come from that battle.

Mara shuddered visibly as she returned to the mortal world. It was not the difference in temperature so much as the item she was now carrying. When she approached Hild the staff in her hands emitted a dissonant sound of pain and torment. The fact that the torment sounded like crying children only added to the disturbing nature of the ancient weapon.

"The- The staff of Nyx. I have it lady Hild." remarked the demoness first class as she held the personification of night and darkness before her.

"Excellent, now give it to our musical little friend down there so we can see what he does with it."

"Lady Hild, how can a human possibly survive touching the staff of Nyx..?"

"How indeed?" The look of curious annoyance that began to creep on the face of the leader of hell caused the blond demoness to step back and nod vigorously.

Mara didn't say another word as she zipped into the air then dove swiftly down to Scott's location. She had no idea what he could do with the staff, even if he could manage to survive its touch.

When the primordial weapon was placed in the man's hands something did happen that seemed quite extraordinary. The sound of crying children ebbed and a strong vibrant hum began to emanate from the weapon.

A sound that seemed reminiscent of a bass guitar began to fill the air. It was a slow, deep rhythm that seemed to work its way into everything around the man. The sound was a singular note, a chord, strummed repeatedly. The temporal spell binding him began to unravel faster.

"Uh, good luck!" exclaimed Mara with a nervous laugh before zipping away from the scene of upcoming carnage.

Hild's curious expression changed to one of predatory interest as the power locked within Scott began to unravel and flow through the weapon she had just passed on to him. It was not evil by any stretch of the imagination, but it did embody darkness and the night. In evil hands it was known to cause people to die of terror simply by hearing its devilish wail. However, in the hands of someone like Scott it could find its true purpose.

The temporal spell binding the avatar of The Metal dissolved completely a brief minute later, just in time for the man to regain his bearings and note that he had a strange staff in his hands and that the demonic teacher from hell had but a single chain still binding her.

"One shot!" he exclaimed the man as he began powering up for the only attack spell he knew that would do at least some damage.

~_Lay down your souls to the god's rock and roll!_

"The god's hmm? That's a bit ungrateful if you ask me." murmured Hild with a mildly amused smirk on her face.

"Uhm, maybe he learned that spell before he met us Lady Hild?"

"Mara dear."

"Yes, Lady Hild?"

"Be quiet."

Mara began to reply, "Yes, La..." but silenced herself immediately when the baleful gaze of her queen's eyes fell upon her.

Scott marveled at the way his power seemed to resonate with the staff he held, it was so much stronger than it usually would be that it almost scared him. When he began to call out the key phrase that would unleash his spell he found that his hands moved on their own in a swift decisive movement that accompanied his words exactly.

"_**Black Metal!**_"

Instead of the serpent headed wave of force he was used to, something altogether different occurred. Several spheres of black energy began to form around him in a circular pattern. Black currents of spiritual force began to arc between them for a brief instant before they shot into the air.

The sky grew dark as evil clouds began to gather where the spheres had moved. Scott could feel the life being drained out of him rapidly but the staff seemed to buffer his energies greatly as more power than he had ever channeled drew into the hell-storm brewing above.

Something was wrong, very wrong. His spell seemed to continue to draw his power, wasting it on the growing storm. The demon was almost free.

What now? This was my only shot. The man considered his fate as he felt his knees begin to buckle and the storm continued to grow.

A soft, whisper entered his mind as the storm clouds began to churn and thunder rolled across the area in riotous fury. Release me.

"Who are you?" called Scott aloud in shock. This did not sound like The Metal speaking."

You've known who I am all along. You've known who you are.

"No, no I..."

"Accept me or die. As you are, you are not enough."

"Who... you... I can't be..."

"Say it!"

"No..." said Scott stubbornly. He was not, even if he had admitted the possibility before, he could not be...

"Then die, and let all those you care for die because you're a petulant child who won't accept the truth."

Images of his friends, his family, being killed or tortured for all eternity flooded his mind. That alone allowed him to force his ego aside and whisper out a single name. The one name he had avoided ever truly calling himself by in his heart.

"**_Nocturne..._**"

The cloud above grew exponentially as the power within the man grew to match it. When he had reformed his body and shoved his soul back into it he had been forced to lock away almost all of his power. Now, he was changing, adapting. He was reawakening.

A vibrant aura of furious sound and light began to radiate outward from the man as knowledge above all else, poured into his mind. He had only been using the smallest amounts of his true power. The true power of rock and The Metal was not in copying others. It was in finding your own voice. He found that voice now by taking the song he had covered for Venom and adding his own words, his own style.

"_Dark creature of long agooo-hooo-oo..._" sang out the man as he tested his voice and power in the wind. The vibration of his song carried outward with enough force to make the rubble strewn about him rumble and shake.

"_You teach me nothing but sorrow and pain..._"

The roiling clouds above began to shift and whirl in time to the music as radiant electrical current and dark bat winged images began to flutter about with it.

"_It's time to send you home agaaiihiaaannn.._."

Sure, it wasn't the catchiest of tunes but the sentiment was deeply ingrained within the lyrics. Scott, and the semi-awakened Nocturne within him, raised his staff to the sky and exclaimed "Riotous Black Metal Thunder!" before thrusting his staff forward.

The demonic teacher snapped the last chain a split second too late to avoid being hit with a crushing bolt of raw eldritch power that slammed into her with the speed and fury of all of nature's anger and hatred. The crashing sound was deafening, windows that were not broken shattered instantly. Cars were pushed back and flipped over. The light from the blast was so overwhelmingly bright that even the one who had caused it had to turn his head and keep his eyes shut fast against it.

High above the battle Hild stood up in exhilaration as the wind from the blast blew her hair back and pressed against her tight sensuous body. "Oh, yes!" crowed the queen of hell. That had definitely been a solid attack. She was sure she could have done better even in her diminished form, but it was still quite potent.

Mara's jaw dropped at the sight. She could not believe what she had seen. What exactly was Scott? Nothing human could have called that much power using the Staff of Nyx, much less survived the result. Yet, there he stood facing into the destructive heart of his unleashed power, his hair flying back in the hell-born gale that resulted.

Senbei could not manage to do anything but blink repeatedly as he too struggled to understand what he had seen. He remained speechless until he saw something even more terrifying than that attack.

"The demon, she is still alive!"

Laughter emanated from the wide crater that had formed at the focal point of the magical assault. When the light and dust cleared the demoness stood there, a little singed, but relatively unharmed.

Scott fell to his knees in shock and growing despair. That strike had used more power than he had ever managed to channel before and it had done precious little damage to the primordial demon.

"Not bad little boy. It'll take a lot more than that to avoid your punishment though!"

The exhausted avatar of The Metal leaned heavily on his new found staff and tried to catch his breath. The attack he had unleashed had drained him utterly. He had nothing left. His thoughts raced but when they finished there was but one conclusion. _Man, I am so fucked._

His hearing and vision began to fade in and out as the terrible toll unleashing that much power had taken on him began to show. If it were not for a strange bit of divine providence his life may well have ended right then.

"Master!" exclaimed an unfamiliar feminine voice. Scott turned his weary head toward the sound and tried to discern who was speaking. He was mildly surprised to note a small hoard of young girls racing toward him.

The concern on their faces was obvious, but he could not place them. He did note that one of the girls looked a lot like Minako, however.

"Oh look, more deviants to be punished!"

A green haired girl who looked a great deal like one of his favorite Dark Stalkers characters huffed at the demoness and spread her wings in a threat display that showed off her epic proportions quite nicely. "Och, and who are you then to be threatening me?"

"Such unruly students. Did no one ever teach you to respect authority?" complained the demoness before launching her tentacles toward the mouthy, disrespectful, students that had arrived so very late to class.

The Minako look alike and the strangely familiar girl with wings easily avoided the attack. However, the metal skinned snake girl took the full brunt of the tentacled assault. She was hurled back with great force before slamming into a nearby wall. Three large puncture holes in her human torso showed how damaging the attack had been. Despite her apparently metallic flesh she was immediately out of the fight.

"Karen!" exclaimed the ersatz Minako in a shocked and fearful tone. The green haired girl attempted to end the fight by launching several spherical energy attacks at the demonic teacher, but the creature simply swatted them away with her tentacles. The situation was going from bad to worse as Scott noted the teacher beginning to power up for an attack.

The exhausted man looked as a glint of light caught his eye. He blinked in surprise as an incredibly powerful spear strike narrowly missed the rapidly moving demoness. A small crater appeared around the epicenter of the thunderous assault.

"How rude!" snapped the demoness before casually back-handing the spear with enough force to send her flying into a destroyed car.

"Tika!" called a new voice that seemed somewhat familiar in its masculinity.

"Master?" called a newly arrived girl with elven shaped ears.

Scott looked over at the man who came running into the area and blinked. He looks familiar.

"Oh, you again? Aren't you dead yet?" The demon teacher flashed him a casual smile and began to undulate her tentacles.

The new arrival began to retort with something sarcastic when he stopped and blinked. "It's changed somehow."

"Well I did redecorate a little. Do you like it?" asked the demoness with a smirk as she gestured toward the destruction all around her.

The man widened his eyes and allowed a brief smile. "It's back! I can feel it!"

"Back? Whatever, time to die. You're too incorrigible to be allowed to live!"

The man threw his pillow case full of supplies and the sword aside. He opened his arms wide. "Come at me Bro!"

The teacher screamed in outrage then sent her tentacles toward the man with incredible speed. Just as he was about to be skewered something indefinable within the man screamed out an unintelligible word. That was when things changed for the better I should think. A brilliant light shot out around him to create a sphere of quantum energy that completely destroyed several feet of the demoness' tentacles as they came into contact with it.

The hell beast screamed in agonized torment as her flesh was ripped apart in that brilliant power. When the light show faded there stood an eight foot tall humanoid form where her unruly student had stood before. He reached into the pillow case for a brief moment while all eyes were on him, then stood upright again.

"Impossible! How can you withstand my discipline human! I completely overpowered you before." snarled the teacher from hell.

"It's simple. I've got plot armor now, bitch." remarked the man casually. The flavor of the story had changed. Now he was a major character again. He could feel the story changing. In a way, one might say the farce was with him.

"Die!" snarled the hell beast hatefully as she began powering up one of her more potent spells. That one brief instant was all it took for the newly empowered man to race across the battlefield. Faster than even the demon could follow at that moment the armored man delivered a powerful uppercut combined with a slashing assault from his elbow. He moved with her and followed the attack up with an open palm strike to the face. Unbeknownst to anyone else, he also managed to slam something into her mouth. The teacher was sent hurtling back for the first time in her battle that day. When she landed on the ground, however, she immediately launched herself back onto her feet and unleashed her spell.

A strangely discordant shriek emanated from the man as high-voltage electrical currents raced throughout his body. His armor protected him from most of the force but some still came through. He fell to the ground in a panting heap, but the creature was unable to follow up on her assault. The Minako look alike, the would-be Morrigan Aensland, and the elf girl each unleashed an attack. A girl who had been hidden until that moment decided to try throwing a piece of debris. She had no distance attacks, otherwise. Several high-powered attacks, and a chunk of concrete, flew toward the demoness at one time forcing the teacher to block or dodge.

It was all the fallen man needed in order to complete his plan. To the great surprise of those around him, the man shouted out "I love you!"

The teacher gasped in surprise as strange emotions began to flow throughout her entire being. She fell to her knees as she gasped her air. Her heart was beating so rapidly all of a sudden.

"You... love her master?" asked the hidden Catgirl from before. Her eyes were wide in surprise.

"Yes." he stated with a hidden smirk before standing up and pointing at the fallen hell beast.

"I love you!"

The demoness shuddered and reacted as though she had been visibly struck. The creature fell limp in surprise as the power of drug induced love flooded through her. She had never felt such an emotion.

Hild could not help but laugh at the sight. "Oh, now that was clever!"

"What's happening? How did he do that?" asked Senbei in surprise.

"Oh, my Urdy, she has such interesting hobbies." replied the queen of hell in a very prideful tone.

"Some concoction of Urd's then. No wonder!" remarked Mara with a big grin.

The armored man looked at his loved ones and said, "Tell her you love her too. Be emphatic about it! Love will win this fight!"

"I love you?" asked the Minako look-alike to the demoness. The prone monstrosity shuddered slightly in happiness.

"No! Louder, like you mean it!" exclaimed the man before he turned back to the creature and professed his undying love to her.

Her tentacles began to flail erratically as she moaned in pleasurable pain.

"I love you!" exclaimed not-the-Minako. The creature gasped aloud and began to shake violently. Then as one each of them took a turn professing their love. They went into great detail about every little thing they loved about her.

The demonic teacher screamed aloud as the pain of their love became too much to bare. Her heart exploded within her evil chest and her body began to dissolve into an eerie green light. Eventually, she dissipated altogether, nothing but a diploma left behind to show she ever existed.

"Don't fuck with the power of love, bitches." explained the armored man when his loved ones looked askance at him. None his gathered loved ones seemed too keen on being referenced in such a way but Author Scott was too excited about not being tentacle raped to death to actually care about anyone's feelings at moment.

The author shook his head after a moment of silence had passed. The demon was vanquished with the power of love. Yes, this was definitely a Sailor Moon style reality. Once the joyous moment of victory ended and some healing medications were dispensed, they looked around at the Pyrrhic victory they had earned.

The area grew incredibly quiet for a moment then a loud cracking sound could be heard. At first there was but one. Then, slowly, others were heard. Soon a loud crashing sound emanated from all across this area of the city. The crystal prisons were shattering. The disciplined students were being set free from their demonic detention. Whether they all had survived or not, remained to be seen.

The Avatar of The Metal gazed around lightly and tried his best to truly grasp what had just happened. It really had been one hell of a day.

Well, there's chapter 11!

My word processor is acting up so there will be many errors in this. Feel free to help me fix them! Please, read and review! Thank you! I'm sorry that this chapter never showed up here. I'll try to add in the wrap up chapters for this story soon. If there is still any interest I might start on the third book and see where Scott (avatar of the metal version ) and crew end up after the final battles with the Pokegirl world Negaverse. It's been years though. Who really wants to see this series finished?


	12. Embrace the Past

Sounds, scents, and lights of a foreign world swirled around the man as he gazed down into the vastness of the city. Atop the roof of one of the numerous skyscrapers that dotted the region Scott soaked it all in. He had come here because it was isolated, far from the common street view. He wanted to try something but did not want company. The shrine was filled with people, people who were concerned for him. It had been a month since the incident with the ancient disciplinarian.

Questions had pounded against him from all sides. They were good questions but he had precious few answers. Was everything that he had experienced while unconscious a dream? Was it a deeper reality? He didn't know for certain and as time passed he became even less certain.

Scott clenched his hand tightly then watch his fingers uncurl. That had felt real at least. This place, it at least was not a dream. He was certain of that much. Rei and Ryouko were here so that told him that the life had led before also had been true.

He turned his gaze up to the moon and let its soft reflected light shine down upon his face. Those rays of light glittered gently against the backdrop of honest tears. Where did he even begin to sort this mess out?

Crying wouldn't solve anything, but he felt so powerless. Despite the raw strength and overwhelming magical force that he could bring to bear he had failed the people that he cared for most. They were either dead, or so far away that he would never find them. How long had he been in that place between worlds? How long had his dying body languished in that dark lonely void? He might never know.

"What am I even doing here?" Scott turned away from the moon then sighed. The dark kingdom was finished on this world. Beryl, Metallia, and all the rest, were only foot notes in history now. The likelihood that anything short of Sailor Galaxia being able to wreak havoc here was practically zero. The combined forces of Heaven, The Sailor Senshi, The Ranma cast, and surprisingly even Hell were all marshaled against extra-dimensional forces. The battle against the dark kingdom here had been so one sided that they might as well have never bothered awakening.

He looked at the empty roof top then took a deep breath. There was one possibility that had been nagging at the back of his mind. Maybe, just maybe, this would work.

Scott stilled his disquieted mind and began to focus on the words, the words to the one song he should have that to sing. The one song that might have given him answers.

_**~Holy Diver… You've been down too long in the midnight sea... oh what's becoming of me...~**_

Scott sang out the power ballad using the ancient power of the heavy metal god Dio. It was a power that he desperately hoped would bring him answers. His hand came up and he pointed outward with his palm. A ball of softly glowing white light began to form as he continued.

_**~Ride the TIGER… you can see his stripes but you know he's clean...~**_

He felt somewhat silly now, singing like this, using these songs to form his magic. He knew it was not necessary for him any longer, but somehow despite the silliness it felt right that he do so.

The air began to vibrate dramatically in front of the man's, if he was still a man, palm. The power ached to be released.

**_~Holy Diver! ~_**

The sphere of light flared brightly for a moment before the night sky began to light up. He stared in shock at the incredibly display. This spell had not done this before! It would only create a small vibrant light then solidify into the form of one of his true companions. This, this was something different altogether. Was it the power of the Staff of Nyx?

A swirling vortex of light erupted across the sky. He could hear panicked screams below him as people began to notice that their midnight world had suddenly turned into brightest day.

An incredible roar echoed throughout the area as a creature easily the size of a three story house flew from the opening. Scott was at a loss for a moment but a hearty cry echoed across the cityscape. "Master! Thou art safe!"

This truly was Tiger after all! The massive hell beast flew to a stop above the skyscraper then hovered for a moment. His head was easily the size of a small bus, but somehow he managed to wear a look of utter joy that defied the horror of his appearance.

"T-tiger... what…?" Scott shook his head. What the hell had he been eating?

"What I don't rate a hello too?" asked a voice that was both familiar yet strange. Scott blinked then looked up to see something that was arguably even more shocking than Tiger. Ami?!

Ami, the mousey girl he had helped rescue months ago leapt casually from atop her perch on Tiger's back. "Well, it seems I am not so easily forgotten." The girl tossed her head confidently then smiled.

"What? I... what happened?" Scott tried to tear himself away from the sight of Ami Mizuno with a warrior's light form. That was strange enough, but far stranger was the fact that she wore what many might refer to as a 'leather battle bikini'. Did her breasts get bigger? What was going on here! There was so much to discover!

Ami confidently placed her hands upon her hips then grinned. "We had thought you were gone too!"

"No I'm fine now…Gone too?"

Tiger answered while police sirens began to wail in the background. "Yes, we have lost everyone and know not where they are."

"We need to talk about this, but this isn't the right place."

"If you wish, master, you may climb upon my back and we shall go somewhere more suitable." Tiger landed as gently as a multi-story sized flying demon tiger could. That is to say, there would be a great deal of repair work to be done atop this poor office building.

Ami leapt onto Tiger's back utilizing a single somersault then glanced down at Scott. He chuckled then leapt up with a far less spectacular movement. After a brief moment of situating themselves the hell-tiger launched upward toward the moon.

Scott thought for a brief moment that they actually would fly there but once they rose above the cloud cover things settled down. Tiger used the cover as a means of finding a spot that they could use to dive down toward the ground.

Down they sped toward the Earth below. Scott instinctively reached around to hold onto Ami. He had to ride in back, but honestly he didn't mind at the moment. Surprisingly, the girl leaned into him, welcoming his embrace. What had happened to her to allow for such a change in personality and physique?

Scott noticed something in the distance and gestured toward where he wanted to go. They trio dropped down into the forest roughly a mile from the Hikawa Shrine. It was an almost perfect location. He knew two people who would love to meet his current companions.

Ami patted Scott casually on the thigh then hopped down from her seat. He followed suit after collecting his thoughts.

Tiger shimmered brightly for a moment then began to shrink. He took on the old form he had worn in his time with Scott previously. Once again he was a winged housecat sized white tiger.

Scott smiled down at the now diminutive feline then chuckled lightly. The tiger had begun to make little movements and soft mewling noises. The soldier from another world knelt down then opened his arms as though he intended to hug the hell beast. Tiger bounced once then raced forward into his master's arms.

"Silly cat."

Ami smiled happily at their antics until she noticed the tears that started to slide along the man's cheeks. Ami stopped smiling at their antics after seeing that but remained happier than she had been in a long time. At least one of their friends had survived.

Scott bit his lower lip and willed himself to focus once more. There would be time for self-recrimination later. They needed to talk. "I'm so glad to see you both. I've been worried"

Ami blushed softly but did her best to hide it. "We're glad you called!"

"Me too. After all that had happened here I hadn't been thinking clearly. Otherwise I would have tried calling sooner."

"Master, what has happened? You are considerably stronger than before."

"It's hard to explain. I'll give you the highlight reel and we can go from there. I want to hear about what happened with you guys as well, though."

"Of course." Ami nodded her head. Part of her wondered at why he wasn't hugging her the same way that he was holding Tiger, but that was a question for later. Right now, they needed to figure out what was going on.

"Well, I'm not sure how much was real or how long I was out. I remember a dark void that was incredibly empty. I thought that I would be alone and injured forever."

"Injured?" asked, Tiger.

"Yeah, from the fight with Jedite. I think I was barely alive in that cold, dark, place."

Tiger mrrowed his understanding and Scott continued. "Then, I... I think I heard a soft voice tell me that I did not belong there, that I belonged somewhere different but that I wasn't strong enough yet. I needed to be stronger."

"Did you recognize this voice?" Ami stepped closer to Scott in concern. Voices that called out to you from the darkness were things that she'd had to deal with all too frequently.

"I'm not sure. I think, I think that I had heard it once before… when I was badly injured. It was actually around the time that we saved you Ami."

"Oh, really? Well, that's… that's good right?" The girl stepped a little closer.

"I think it was. I spoke with someone here that said that he both was and was not that voice. I think that it was not evil or anything."

"You spoke to that voice here? Did they say who they were?" The blue haired girl tilted her head to the side.

"Well, I'm not sure if the people of your world would recognize him, but here they refer to him as 'the almighty' or Kami-sama."

"You've spoken with the almighty one?" asked Tiger excitedly. The small feline shifted positions quickly and pressed his paws against Scott's chest.

"Yeah, I was more confused and innocent at the time, but I remember it clearly."

"Confused and innocent? You?"

Scott smirked at Ami then nodded. She had the good manners to turn her head to the side and blush a little at her forwardness.

"When I arrived in this world I was horribly injured and amnesiac. I was confused and didn't know what to do."

He had their complete attention now. It was obvious that they wanted to ask questions, but he needed to continue the story. "Don't worry, I was found by a kindly old man. He took me in, nursed me back to health, and I stayed with his family."

"That's great!" Ami placed her hands together happily after hearing that. She knew that he'd turned out to be fine since he was standing here, but it was good to hear about such kindness.

"It gets better Ami. Do you want to know the man's name?"

"Certainly, I would like to thank him after all." She gave the man a curious look. He was implying something and she wanted him to know that she was aware of it.

"Hino. His name is Grandpa Hino."

"What! Did you... How…? Are we back? The world is so different. I thought that we were somewhere else entirely!"

Scott shook his head. He looked down while he tried to collect his thoughts. Finally, he said, "No, we are not back. We are in an alternate world. There are alternate versions of the Sailor Senshi here. Same people, different world, different life."

"How can that be possible?" Ami sighed deeply. She had not realized how much she had hoped that she was back home.

"That's something you'd have to take up with reality. Anything I told you would be based on science-fiction. I…hmm..."

"Hmm? Did you think of something master?" Tiger leaned into his master and began to purr.

"We… I think I should show you."

"Show us what?" Ami stepped within arm's length this time.

"Come with me and find out." Scott smiled softly then turned toward the nearby trail. He knew this area of the woods greatly. The nearby trail could be spotted even in the dark, not that he dark was a difficult thing for him to navigate.

Silently the trio moved to the trail and began to trip uphill toward the Hikawa Shrine. No one spoke during the trip, each reflected on internal thoughts and questions that they wished to ask. Yet, how did you ask the questions that you wanted when you could not decide on which to ask first?

"Hey... is that..?" asked Ami in shock. The exited the forest and the shrine loomed before them in all its sacred and homespun beauty.

"Yes, but it's not ours."

"Yeah, guess not… but…"

"I know Ami. It hurts but in a good way."

"Yes…"

Scott moved forward, still carrying Tiger. When he got to the door he turned and handed the cat to Ami. "I need to let them know I have visitors. Can you wait here?"

They nodded and he smiled. The smile turned to a downright grin as he asked them to move to the side a little so that anyone answering the door would not see them. He didn't tell them that this was the reason for them to move, but they complied anyway.

Scott rang the doorbell. Feet stomped and scuffled on the floor for a few minutes before someone answered. "Hello, I commend your reverent actions but what type of mortal comes to a shrine at this hour of the nigh… oh Scott!"

"Hey Peorth. How's things?"

"How's things? You've been gone since this morning! We've been worried sick, despite the fact that you told us that you needed time to yourself."

"Yeah, I know. I can't help that... and I'm sorry."

"Well, you'd better be! I—Hey, who are you friends?"

"Oh, yes... uh, them. Peorth would you mind doing me a favor?"

"Sure, I suppose…"

"Can you bring everyone into the fire reading room? I... uh... think that this is worth losing a bit of beauty sleep."

"Is everything alright? Is there trouble again?"

Scott shook his head. "Things haven't been this alright in months Peorth. Please, can you just do this?"

"Oh, of course!" She turned and jogged off toward the sleeping occupants. The noise had already woken a few of them. Scott could hear disgruntled noises coming from inside.

"We need to hurry over there."

"What's all this secrecy about?" Ami was confused, and rightly so.

"You'll see! Come on!"

She frowned cutely then nodded. Scott led the way once more. He told the dynamic duo to go hide in the corner and once again they complied, although this was all very strange.

"This better be good!" groused Rei as she stomped into the room. "Scott! What's with you today?"

Ami's eyes opened wide as she took in the site of local Rei. She really did look exactly like the Rei that she knew. The only differences were the ears, the tail, and her somewhat less impressive forward based architecture.

The other girls and Grandpa piled into the room not long after and neither Ami nor Tiger could believe what they saw. "Rei! Ryouko!" Ami raced forward excitedly.

"Wha! What is it Ami…" began Ryouko before she spotted Tiger.

""You... you're alive! Oh, please tell me it's true!"

"Ami? What are you doing here with Artemis…?" Local Rei blinked tiredly then looked again. Since when did Artemis have wings?

"Scott what's going on?" Grandpa Hino came walking in just in time to get in on the tearful reunion.

"Two more of our group survived the battle. This is Ami and Tiger, friends of ours from before." Scott had almost said, 'from home' but was it really his home? Did he even have one of those anymore?

"A-ami?" asked Catgirl Rei. She couldn't believe her eyes. The bluette nodded slowly then bit her lower lip and took a tentative step forward. Ryouko broke the confusion by running over and wrapping her arms around the girl then began to cry. "You're alive!"

"Ryouko…" Ami placed her cheek against her sobbing friend's face. The Catgirl walked over, her eyes shimmering with as yet unspent tears. Shock evident upon her face, the girl joined in on the hug.

A loud purr could be heard from their direction not long after. Scott assumed it was Rei until Tiger fell to the ground. "Oh, is the reunion over? No one cries for Tiger?"

"Tiger! Of course, we're happy to see you!" exclaimed Rei before picking him up and giving him a warm hug of his own. Ryouko stroked his fur and wings, eliciting another purr from the hell beast.

Scott shook his head and allowed himself to smile. Something truly good had happened today. He just had to accept it.


End file.
